Question Time 12th February 2026
The Panel:
Luke Pollard (Labour)
Ben Spencer (Conservative)
Ellie Chowns (Green Party)
Nadine Dorries (Columnist and author)
Venue: Bristol
Last week on Question Time, we decided that Labour panellist Emma Reynolds was only there because no one else would do it. La Bruce concurred, stating at the outset that Comrade Reynolds had ‘drawn the short straw’.
This week, in the realer world of reviewing, there’s no sign of any panellists at all during my ‘Prep Time’. Therefore, the biographies will be light. There will be more of the actual programme — not necessarily a bad thing. Rather than a he-said-she-said, we shall soak up the whole and make great deductions from it.
With space to fill, and in contradiction of weekly unread comments expressing sympathy and concern, I can inform Puffins that I actually enjoy reviewing QT. Keep in mind that any over-frustration can be relieved in the written word through mild sarcasm, understatement and overstatement – and the occasional bad impersonation — rather than by putting a foot through the telly.
Also bear in mind, as is often the case with pleasure, that mine might not be a good thing. There are people out there, apparently, who enjoy sawing their limbs off on webcam for the entertainment of other aficionados. A friend tells me such a thing is known as apotemnophilia. Apotequestiontimeophilia? I shall add it to my online dating and see if my luck changes.
With still no sign of the guests, we shall speculate on their reticence. Politics in the gutter and MPs being hated are a constant, and yet there are volunteers for the likes of Macclesfield, Bradford and even King’s Lynn. Trying too hard to be potty Portland, Oregon, perhaps nutty Bristol puts them off?
Local MPs include Green loon Carla Denyer, often on this programme. The city’s other five MPs are Labour: hefty vegan Kerry McCarthy; formerly homeless Irishman Damien Egan; QT regular Darren Jones, who ‘grew up in poverty’; and Irish eugenist (Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life) Karin Smyth.
At least citizens no longer have to put up with the ludicrous Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire, Baroness Debbonaire of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney, who lost her Bristol seat at the general election and who, judging by what the Temp informs me is her ‘territorial designation’, didn’t want to be there in the first place. In light of the delay, neither does tonight’s panel.
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Nadine Dorries is a former Conservative MP and media personality who stood down from parliament in 2024. Famous for expenses controversies, iffy novels and appearing on Question Time, the 68-year-old has since defected to Reform UK.
Luke Pollard is Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport since 2017, and Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry. The 45-year-old Exeter University educated son of a submariner has never had a job in the real world and is openly ‘gay’.
Ben Spencer is the Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, first elected in 2019. A former NHS psychiatrist, he’s served as deputy party chair and shadow minister focusing on health, science and innovation.
Ellie Chowns, Green Party politician and academic-sector professional, served as a Green councillor in Herefordshire, was elected MEP in 2019, and became MP for North Herefordshire in 2024.
The 50-year-old has never had a job. Before entering elected office, she worked in the charity sector on international development, health and environmental issues (including for Christian Aid and Friends of the Earth); she also served as a university lecturer after completing her PhD.
Speaking of submariners, defence readiness and industry, the landlubbers at QT Review HQ have been scanning the horizon though rolled up newspapers. As far as we can work out, the UK has eleven submarines. Four Vanguard Class, which carry the nuclear deterrent, and seven Astute Class attack submarines.
Of the Astutes, two are in building or sea trials, with another four being in refit or repair, awaiting refit or repair, or being used for spares. Which leaves one available – HMS Anson. In the troubled world in which we live, where is Anson? Off the coast of Venezuela, Gaza, Iran, Sudan, Nigeria, Ukraine or China? No! Heading to possibly the only place on earth where there isn’t a war – Australia – as a demonstrator to prop up the proposed UK-US-Australia future submarine project.
Meanwhile, although only one Vanguard would ordinarily be on patrol anyway, delays on the next generation of deterrent vessels (Dreadnaughts) mean Vanguard availability is reduced to the extent that boats have to do 6-month-long patrols.
Might one suggest to Mr Pollard that the motto of his Defence Readiness and Industry department might be, ‘Pay for nine, get two’?
Speaking of murky things happening below the waterline, in the age of Epstein, Prince Andrew, Mandelson and Lord Doyle, is Luke Pollard a suitable choice to put before the viewers?
Not only has his constituency office been daubed with Epstein-type graffiti, but on a previous St Valentine’s Day, a message accompanied by an un-redacted photograph of his ‘boy’friend raised eyebrows.
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Question one: Is Sir Keith a lame duck prime minister?
Luke Pollard suggested the PM must learn lessons and do better, rather than have ‘a return to chaos’ leadership change. What about the chaos of the last week? we all shouted. Focus on the issues, said Luke, the subtext being: until a clear frontrunner emerges to replace fatally wounded Keith. Labour is a big family, he continued. And we all know what a nuisance families are! Learn from mistakes, he kept chanting.
No, said Ben Spencer, he is a zombie prime minister, staggering around neither alive or dead. ‘Will he still be here 28 days later?’ said Luke, continuing the horror movie theme of living under a Labour government.
Ellie agreed Keir is a dead duck. Incredibly weak. She touched upon Mandelson’s lobbying company and its connection to UK defence procurement. He’s lost the trust of the county through multiple U-turns over multiple months.
Labour haven’t got a clue about getting rid of PM’s, began Nadine, venal self-obsessed Tory MPs are better at it. Meanwhile in the usless Labour Party, even King of the North Andy Burnham can’t manage to stand in a by-election. The Gorton and Denton plebicite and May local elections will finish Starmer off.
As for a conflict even more intense than that in the Labour Party – Girl War – Bruce wore a black top, this week’s winner Nadine sported a white bath robe, and Ellie modelled a dinner lady jacket on top of a white blouse she’d slept in.
Back to the Mandelson/Pantir contract with the MoD. Pantir are AI contractors appointed through a proper procurement process, according to Luke. No, said Ellie, directly granted to Pantir, not via a competitive process. The audience-driven debate moved towards a general agreement over the lack of moral compass of the likes of Burnham and Starmer, who seem to be motivated by personal political ambition rather than the good of the country.
Question two was from one of the remarkably few non-whites in a Bristol audience. Has the UK become colonised by immigrants? as per Jim Ratcliffe’s SKY interview comments yesterday. La Bruce informed the audience that they’d sighed as the question was asked – whether they had or not.
Ben disagreed with the language rather than the sentiment, but went on to congratulate the colonisers and justify the process as being as a result of legal immigration. But a Conservative MP (Katie Lamb?), quoted by La Bruce, says some legals shouldn’t be here and should go. Hmmm. La Bruce tried to pin Ben down on deporting legal people who don’t ‘share our values’.
Ellie was triggered. You know the rest. Far right… Brexit… Monaco… international law… zzzzzz
The Green Party wants open borders, slipped in La Bruce. Borders don’t make sense, the loon replied. ‘The Green Party would like to see a world…’ A world that will never exist, love. Grow up.
A Manchester United supporter spoke from the audience. For the fanbase, remarkably close to Old Trafford, given it’s only a 168-mile drive from Bristol to Manchester for a glory-hunting tourist.
NHS! Said a lady in the audience.
Ratcliffe’s language was mistaken, according to Nadine, but his point was right. A 12,000,000 increase in the population since 2000 has impacted the public services. We have poor levels of integration, which leads to unrest. It’s not working. Ellie blamed inequality, to applause from the carefully selected BBC audience.
Luke Pollard told us who we are and droned on about values. What he doesn’t realise is that the elites’ values in the London bubble are diametrically opposed to those of the rest of us. The next question was about unaffordable housing in Bristol. Caused by three things: immigration, immigration and immigration, said nobody.
Reverse the colonisation NOW!
PS The reason there’s a sudden change of tone in the podcast, is because Mrs AWS came downstairs to tell me she couldn’t sleep because I was shouting. Maybe I don’t enjoy it all that much after all!
© Always Worth Saying 2026
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