The University of York hosted BBC’s Question Time on Thursday night, transforming the Ron Cooke Hub into a BBC set for the panel of politicians, audience members and host Fiona Bruce.
Closing the Ron Cooke Hub for two days this week, the production set up in the foyer of the iconic East Campus building, with York specific graphics to complete the look.
The event was strictly ticketed beforehand with audience members thoroughly vetted ahead of time for security concerns; although that didn’t stop many an eager passer by from trying their luck and sneaking quick glances through the lakeside windows.
Vision chatted briefly with two lucky audience members outside. Benedict, a teacher from Leeds, was hoping to hear about issues of education, including the ongoing teacher strikes and marking boycotts and was interested in what the Conversative party might have to say.
A healthcare professional also waiting to enter was hoping to ask a question regarding the ongoing junior doctor’s strike, and was glad Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting was in attendance. “With the strikes being so prominent in the news, and the biggest issue in my life recently, I think that’s who I’m most interested in hearing from.” Wes Streeting visited the University of York Department of Health and Science on Tuesday alongside Labour Leader Keir Starmer.
The discussion itself was broadcast live on BBC iPlayer, although noticeably started 15 minutes late, and saw a panel of politicians and industry experts take to the stage in front of the Yorkshire audience. The panel included Cabinet Minister Jeremy Quin, Labour Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Green Party Co-Leader Carla Denyer, Former Archbishop of York Lord Sentamu and Bloomberg Columnist Merryn Somerset Webb.
The show covered topics including cost of living, small businesses, NHS strikes, the right to protest and Labour’s attack ads of Rishi Sunak in a vibrant debate between Labour, the Conservatives, and a rare and expressive Green party representative.
The evening saw also some particularly interesting quotes from the industry experts on the panel, who both offered own distinctly intriguing points of view.
Addressing the methods of engagement the government has undertaken with striking industries, Lord Sentamu’s recounted a particularly enlightening Ugandan metaphor: “Whether elephants are fighting or making love the grass gets hurt.”
Wrapping up on whether Labour’s attack ads lose them the moral high ground, Webb was particularly coherent “Would you like me to be very quick – no politicians have the moral high ground any more.”
Also commenting on attack ads Lord Sentamu concluded “Never point a finger at anyone because three are pointing back at you.”
While the audience members too engaged in a vibrant discussion of local and national issues, one question-asker was noticeably clear, “to be fair, I don’t think the government has a clue.”
Before the event, York Vision recieved a brief sneak peek at the transformation of the Ron Cooke Hub, testing out the set and glimpsing the enormous effort that goes in to transporting such a prominent BBC programme to the city of York. A massive thank you to the BBC Question Time crew who so graciously let us into their space moments before a live broadcast, and who subsequently produced a fascinating coversation of national issues on our Uni of York doorstep.
BBC Question Time is avaliable to watch in catch up on iPlayer, with new episodes broadcasting live every Thursday at 8pm and on replay after the 10pm news.