“Politics has probably never been held in worse esteem or more contempt in your lifetime, probably in my lifetime too”. A bold statement by the host for the day – Krishnan Guru Murthy – to kick off this year’s edition of Young Peoples Question Time, but it is one that seems to resonate with the audience. The task therefore falls to the panellists to convince them otherwise, and to try and restore some trust; they are Diane Abbott MP (Labour), Dr. Kwasi Kwarteng MP (Conservative), Steven Woolfe MEP (UKIP) and Baroness Jenny Jones (Green).
Just as the first question of the day is asked, relating to policies outside of immigration, we’re treated to a rare glimpse of democracy in action – the bell sounds, meaning that Mrs Abbott and Mr Kwarteng have to leave us for a short time to vote on the latest piece of legislation to pass through the House. This leaves Mr Woolfe with a chance to lay out his party’s policies relatively unchallenged, an opportunity he seizes with both hands. Referring to education he outlines plans to scrap tuition fees for British citizens, to oversee the creation of more grammar schools and to promote technical colleges on the same level as universities. On the subject of Health he states that the NHS should remain free at the point of care but again only to British citizens; benefit tourism, as far as UKIP are concerned, needs to end. Baroness Jones quite predictably refutes UKIP’s policies from the off; she claims immigration is a good thing for the country as a whole, and whilst she agrees that tuition fees should be scrapped it should not be in such a discriminatory way as advocated by Mr Woolfe.
‘Elephant in the Room’
As the debate goes on and the questions continue to pour in it....
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