WE are well-used to the combative pantomime that Question Time has become. It is no longer a programme for airing ideas or discussing the minutiae of policy in a considered or illuminating way. Instead, panellists are vying for that viral moment and the audience are expected to perform in kind.
When claps and clicks become currency, you are inevitably going to end up with a show where nuance and thoughtful persuasion are disincentivised. Add the chaos and division of Brexit into the mix and it’s no surprise that this staple of political programming has become almost unwatchable.
READ MORE: BBC's Question Time farce is nothing new for independence movement
On Thursday’s episode, the first question was about the remarkable achievements of 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
Panellist Caroline Lucas has been critical of Question Time’s obsession with Ukip in the past and how often its representatives appear despite having no MPs at Westminster.
As presenter Fiona Bruce pointed out, raising awareness of climate change has been Caroline Lucas’s life’s work. On Thursday’s panel, she was the expert.
That didn’t stop actor John Rhys Davies waving his arms around and bellowing at her when she questioned the carbon emissions statistics he cited and the weight he attributed to the population growth of Africa in driving climate change.
Following his Question Time appearance, Davies has been criticised for his aggressive and boorish manner, which included banging his hands on the desk and shouting “Oh woman!” at Lucas during a question about Donald Trump’s visit to the UK. To her credit, Caroline Lucas remained calm. Perhaps she’s just become accustomed to theatrics masquerading as debate in this perpetually angry Brexit Britain.
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Since the EU referendum, it has become normal for the view of experts to be given equal weight to those who are willing to yell and be outrageous as possible on television.
The trend towards automatic cynicism when presented with un-sexed-up facts drives much of the problem – and that has only been exacerbated by the media’s "false balance" approach.
As Thursday’s show progressed the audience became more animated with regular bouts of booing and heckling as well as cries of “You think we’re stupid!” and “You are talking rubbish!”.
Fiona Bruce attempted to restore order and told the audience: “I know people feel passionate, but we can still also be polite.”
READ MORE: Mhairi Black: Media nonsense is part of the climate change problem
The naked anger on display from the audience was from both Leave and Remain voters. The challenge facing our politicians is how to calm the waters enough so that when the outcome of Brexit is better known, half the country or more aren’t left feeling as if they have been “betrayed”.
There is an argument to be made that by choosing to highlight the loudest and most contrary voices, the media is perpetuating the problem. But Question Time alone hasn’t created the outpouring of anger we see towards politicians, rather it is a mirror that reflects the worst aspects of political discourse back at us.
The new BBC Scotland channel recently launched its own version of Question Time – Debate Night. The reaction to it has been largely positive, with viewers commenting on the calm conversations between panellists, light on hostility or tribalism. However, as reported in The National today, the programme has now been shifted to the “graveyard” Sunday night slot after plummeting view figures.
The temptation for Debate Night will be to improve their viewing figures by bussing in audience members who care more about creating a stir than having their question answered or panellists who shout and scream and jab their fingers at their opponents.
I hope they resist that temptation and continue to produce a constructive programme that will hopefully gradually build up its viewership, as the new channel beds in. It should learn from the mistakes of its sister programme and not try to emulate it.
Question Time has become a symbol of what the UK has become under the stewardship of this reckless Conservative government: insular, angry, and unwilling to debate in good faith.
The upcoming EU elections will show us to what extent ordinary voters – the sort who don’t spend their Thursday nights in a studio audience – are feeling disenfranchised and angry with the two main parties. With both the Brexit Party and Change UK launching their EU election campaigns this week, the expectation is that Labour and the Conservatives could be heading for a bloody nose.
The status quo taking another pounding at the ballet box won’t do anything to quell the rising anger in the country.
Politics is what got us into this mess and unfortunately, only politics can help repair some of the damage. Given the complete failure of Theresa May and her Government and the way in which they have repeatedly put the interests of the Conservative party before those of the country, that re-building of trust isn’t going to happen imminently.
Until the direction of the UK is clearly set out, the voices of dissent will only grow louder. And on Question Time and across our media, they are guaranteed to be heard.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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