"A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation." - Adlai E. Stevenson II
You have to admire the theatrical talents of GB News broadcasters and commentators. They love adjectives that convey sharp criticism or strong disapproval, such as “skewered”, "savaged," "slammed," "eviscerated," "demolished," "torn apart," and "ripped into." These terms are frequently used when describing political debates or media controversies, reinforcing a confrontational style of reporting.
This makes for very good theatre but rarely informs us about the facts behind the exaggerated rhetoric. One of GB News favourite targets is BBC Question Time, which it frequently accuses of bias. This week was no exception
"Matt Goodwin erupts at BBC Question Time as "bias row erupts over Reforms Zia Yusuf" (GB News: 13/06/25)
The "eruption" of Matt Godwin, (apparently a "GB News fan favourite") was because he too had suffered a similar experience to Yusuf when he was a panellist on Question Time. What, exactly, was it that so exercised Matt Goodwin that he "erupted" with effervescent fury at the treatment of Zia Yusef?
Well, I actually watched Question Time that night because I wanted to see what the "exhausted" recently resigned/reinstated Yusuf had to say about Reform UK policy.
As usual, Yusuf, like so many Reform UK officials, was excellent at avoiding answering the question but excellent at listing a sting of problems facing ordinary working people. The question asked may have been "Are tax rises inevitable?" but Yusuf was straight into criticising both Tory and Labour governments alike for the cost of the weekly shop, rising rents, unaffordable mortgages, the cost of energy etc, etc.
The British people, said Yusuf, "throughout history," have been willing to take this pain for the "common good" but the current government is giving away money to foreigners. No attempt, what-so-ever to answer the question, just a diatribe of antt immigrant, anti government rhetoric.
The rightwing do this so well. Their theatrical skills are honed to perfection when portraying what they regard as the tragedy that is Britain 2025.
Yusuf was asked nine times how Reform UK would solve these problems but he would not answer. The reason he didn’t answer will become clear later
The debate moved to illegal immigrants, as it always does with Reform UK, and Yusuf said Reform would solve this problem by having the border force intercept the boats at sea, and then towed back to France. When asked how he would persuade the French authorities to accept this he could not answer. He was asked multiple times but simply repeated the usual Reform UK anti-immigrant/ anti-government arguments that we have all heard before but he never offered a solution.
The failure to offer solutions is a major failing of Reform UK. Time and time again they list problems but never how they would solve them
Yusuf’s next list of problems centred around the NHS but he was at pains to point out that "the notion that Nigel Farage is on the record as saying we would scrap the NHS - simply not true". Embarrassingly, it was then pointed out the Farage HAD said the NHS funding model isn’t working, and that Reform would fundamentally rethink the way it is funded.
Yusuf, clearly on the back foot, simply repeated himself, ending with: "The NHS will always be free at the point of use” All that means is the patient does not have to pay at the time of use. They can pay later. Or, they may only receive limited medical help if they have no private insurance, as happens in America.
After listing, yet again, the many things that are wrong with the NHS, Yusuf finally admitted that "fundamental changes" had to be made to the NHS because people were "petrified" (theatrical language yet again) of becoming ill.
His next target was "net zero" energy policy, as it was a "regressive tax on working people". Yusuf told the audience that no political party was more in favour of nuclear reactors than Reform UK. What he deliberately neglected to say when condemning "net zero" policies was that building nuclear reactors is part of Labour's scheme for net zero. Apparently, when it is Reform UK advocating building nuclear power plants it is a saving to the economy, but when Labour does it. It is an unacceptable cost! How Reform UK would pay for more nuclear reactors he didn't say.
Going off on yet another tangent so he could give a political speech about the advantages of voting Reform UK, Yusuf claimed that Farage would make "hundreds of millions of pounds in cuts" during his first turn in office. When asked would Reform be making cuts to welfare payments and the NHS he did his utmost to avoid answering the question. He desperately tried to deflect the question by claiming Reform UK was on the "side of working people who set their alarm clocks in the morning"
He then slipped up massively because he said: "It is way to easy in this day and age in the UK to get onto long-term welfare."
He was again asked if he would cut welfare. Clearly disturbed, and realising that he had let the cat out of the bag, he repeated he was on the side of working people. Asked repeatedly if Reform UK would make cuts to benefits he finally had to admit that under Reform UK "per capita, under a Reform government you will see welfare spending reduced significantly".
Far from being the party of the working people, Yusuf revealed that the most vulnerable in our society are to be punished for being poor, ill, or unemployed. Reform UK intends, through its DOGE programme, headed by Zia Yusuf, to make tens of thousands of public sector workers redundant in their zeal to mimic Elon Musk So, having been sacked by Yusuf, these redundant workers can expect to find Reform UK has also slashed welfare payments!
No wonder Matt Goodwin “erupted”. Not because Question Time was biased, but because it revealed the lies and deceit of Reform UK when it comes to looking after ordinary working people.
