Who is on the BBC Question Time panel tonight?

The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Chichester in West Sussex, the home of Patricia Routledge. But who will be keeping up appearances – and who will prove themselves a woman of no importance? Here’s your guide to the panel and where they stand on Brexit…

Vicky Ford

Who? Well, quite. Conservative MEP for Chelmsford

Where is she on Brexit? Former MEP who opposes no-deal and has voted for Theresa May’s unloved deal

An MEP for eight years and MP since 2017, Ford heads up a panel which couldn’t say “end of term” any more if Fiona Bruce allowed them all to play board games for the full hour. Broadly Remainy, was one of the 15 MPs dubbed mutineers on the front of the Daily Telegraph in 2017 after voting not to fix a date in legislation for Britain’s departure from the EU, an accusation which saw her tell Essex Live: “If I’m a mutineer then it must be a very boring day at sea.” A supporter of Jeremy Hunt for the Tory leadership, it didn’t prevent her from dropping the C-bomb on Radio 5 Live last month (she said “I’ve never said that before in my life”). Absolutely definitely did not write her own Wikipedia entry, which says objectively of her time as an MEP: “She campaigned to reduce bureaucracy for business, to reduce the EU budget and to end the Strasbourg two-seat circus.”

Louise Haigh

Who? Shadow policing minister

Where is she on Brexit? Vocal opponent of no-deal, supports the line there should be a general election

Loyalist said to have masterminded Labour’s narrow win in the recent Peterborough by-election, Haigh is a supporter of the preferred position of Jeremy Corbyn, a man of unique virtue unparalleled in human history, that there should be a general election to sort Brexit. Or at least was prior to today’s YouGov poll showing the party at 18%. Described the scenes in Parliament as “depressing” and “embarrassing” and rebuked fellow northern Corbynista and no-deal advocate Dennis Skinner, saying: “I like Dennis but I disagree with him completely on this.” A former public policy manager for Aviva and special constable in the Met, she had an amusing Twitter spat with Brexit headbanger Owen Paterson earlier this year after the latter made the dubious claim strangers were approaching the notoriously recognisable MP on the Tube demanding “just get on with it”.

Siân Berry

Who? Co-leader of the Green Party

Where is she on Brexit? Firm Remainer and advocate of a People’s Vote

Co-leader of the Greens since last year, which will come as a surprise to all those who presumed it was still Caroline Lucas, the former medical copywriter is also a member of the London Assembly. Although the Greens are not fielding a candidate in the forthcoming Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, Berry has ruled out an automatic Remain alliance in the event of a snap general election, saying: “The other parties would have to come to us, and we wouldn’t be giving anything away in talks. It isn’t our job this time to start anything. We already did that.” Says: “It’s really important [a Brexit deal] goes to the people [and] lets the young people who didn’t get a say in the referendum have that say.” The Greens’ candidate for the London mayoralty next year, she is perplexingly not Welsh.

Martin Lewis

Who? Penny-pinching journalist, TV presenter and money expert

Where is he on Brexit? Voted Remain in 2016, “maybe 55% to 45%” in favour

Real-life market-comparing website who – let’s be honest – you probably wouldn’t want to go on holiday with given his scrimping, Lewis is the media’s go-to man for saving a few bob. Wrote a lengthy guide before the referendum vote on what Leave and Remain would mean for people’s finances, saying that he was “generally risk-averse, and that pushes me just towards an IN vote for safety”. A campaigner on bank charges, energy bills, student finance and mental health and debt, he was also a one-time finalist for the Hackney Empire’s stand-up comedy competition (and not the Young Jewish Stand Up contest as Wikipedia claims…). The creator of the website MoneySavingExpert.com, he sold it to the Moneysupermarket.com group for up to £87m in 2012, although almost certainly still steams stamps off envelopes to use them again.

Tom Harwood

Who? Reporter at right-wing political blog Guido Fawkes

Where is he on Brexit? Hard Brexiteer. Ran the student wing of Vote Leave

A former National Union of Students delegate elected after a campaign in which he promised to defeat ISIS and construct a real-life functioning Death Star, Harwood went on to run the student wing of Vote Leave. Now a reporter for Brexit-cheerleading blog Guido Fawkes, he claimed earlier this year that chief secretary to the Treasury and Brexiteer Liz Truss had proven she was committed to freedom by naming her child Liberty. Has dismissed claims by 99% of experienced economists that a no-deal Brexit would cause disruption, saying: “There might be a little bit more friction at Dover or Calais but that is not going to be the end of the world.” Tonight’s shoo-in for a fawning Express online write-up on how he had SHUT DOWN REMOANERS by MAKING THIS BRILLIANT POINT, he will at least enjoy the last day of school feel, having experienced it more recently than most.

Question Time is on BBC One at 10.35pm tonight (11.35pm in Northern Ireland)

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