VIEWERS in Scotland were left feeling confused after Question Time host Fiona Bruce decided to ask the audience if they supported Scottish independence - despite the show being broadcast in a Conservative heartland in England.
This week's programme was broadcast from the English town of Rugby, which has had a Tory MP for more than decade.
It also featured just one Scottish panelist in the form of journalist and National columnist Ruth Wishart, even though the top story was Nicola Sturgeon's resignation.
At one point, following a discussion of Sturgeon and her legacy, Bruce asks whether anyone in the audience is supportive of Nicola Sturgeon’s views on independence and the SNP. Not one person raised their hand.
However, given the fact that nobody who votes in the constituency of Rugby would be able to vote for the SNP anyway, it seems a peculiar question to ask.
Furthermore, at the beginning of the show, despite being the only Scot on the panel, Ruth Wishart was not given the first opportunity to respond to the first question about Nicola Sturgeon and independence.
Much to his surprise, Fiona Bruce instead turned to Private Eye editor Ian Hislop.
“Yeah, obvious first person to come to…” he quipped, prompting chuckles from the audience.
Bruce responded: “It’s an opinion and that’s all we can have.”
Hislop proceeded to say that felt Nicola Sturgeon “gets an easy ride” in terms of media coverage south of the Border.
“What we’ll lose is the cult of personality, which I think will be a good thing” Ian Hislop describes Nicola Sturgeon as a “standard politician, not a saint” and says her resignation makes Scottish independence slightly less likely#bbcqt https://t.co/pdu2EiAv2r pic.twitter.com/TDUkWkLdNt
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) February 16, 2023
He added: “A lot of the tributes to her seem to me well over the top and not terribly well informed.
“She said three weeks ago that she had plenty in the tank and that she was nowhere near quitting. Then she quit. That makes her a standard politician not a saint.
“And I do think, in terms of independence, I’m sure the movement will go on – there are plenty of people here who will take it on.
“I think what we’ll lose is the cult of personality, which I think will be a good thing for Scotland and a good thing for everyone else.”
At another point in the show, Fiona Bruce allowed the audience to express their opinions about Scotland.
One audience member took the opportunity to announce that he felt that Scotland should never be permitted to leave the UK.
He said: “I share the view with a former Lord Advocate that the Treaty of Union, as an international treaty, is in perpetuity and cannot be broken in any event so independence should constitutionally never happen.”
