Viewers of the latest episode of Question Time accused the BBC programme of being "biased" towards the left, with complaints focused on the balance of the panel and the conduct of presenter Fiona Bruce.
Bruce hosted the show alongside Labour's Lucy Powell, Conservative Luke Evans, TUC's Paul Nowak, The Telegraph's Tim Stanley, and author John Amaechi. The discussion quickly turned to the UK's immigration policy, with the panel examining whether Shabana Mahmood's new immigration policy represents a total U-turn.
The Home Secretary scrapped plans to make foreign care workers already in the UK wait 15 years to qualify for permanent settlement. She had originally proposed doubling the wait for indefinite leave to remain from five years to 10 for most migrants, with some facing a 15-year wait. She later revised the policy to announce that care workers earning at least £25,000 a year who arrived in the UK before May 2025 would continue to qualify after five years.
Viewer complaints over panel balance
As the panel discussed the policy, viewers at home expressed fury, accusing Bruce of allowing left-leaning panellists to speak for too long, while others said the show in general was not being impartial.
One viewer said: "Never seen such a leftie bunch on Question Time. Not showing Liverpool in a good light and as for the clown from the TUC he needs to give his head a wobble. Proper melt!"
Another asked: "Why does Fiona allow Lucy to prattle on uninterrupted but doesn’t let anti-government panellists have a free ride?"
Previous bias accusations
A third chimed in: "So the BBC chooses Labour supporting Liverpool immediately after the budget. This duplicitous, dishonourable organisation just can’t help themselves."
A fourth raged: "Absolutely leftist garbage tonight!!!!" while a fifth agreed: "Awful programme so divisive and bias!"
Question Time has faced accusations of bias before, with Reform UK branding it "boundlessly biased" after Suella Braverman's appearance in October 2026.
The BBC strongly denied the claims, stating that Question Time maintains vetting procedures, background checks, and balancing methods to ensure a representative mix of opinions.
