Black Country audience grills judges over important issues on Question Time including HS2 and Suella Braverman's migration comments

This week, the panel of guests answered questions put forward by a West Midlands audience as the popular talk show filmed live from The Halls in Wolverhampton.

Questions ranged from Rishi Sunak's plan to increase the smoking age, Suella Braverman's Conservative Party speech and the cancellation of the HS2 project, with audience members hoping this week's guests would be able to shed some light on the topics.

The panel was manned by Richard Holden (Conservative MP), Jonathan Ashworth (Labour MP), Emma Dabiri (Writer), Richard Walker (Iceland Supermarkets) and Tony Parson (Author and Journalist).

'Hurricane'

The main topic of debate this week seemed to shift around Sunak's axing of the rest of the HS2 project, which he announced yesterday, and Suella Braverman's Conservative Party speech where Ms Braverman spoke about a "hurricane" of migrants being on the horizon.

The home secretary's speech came under fire by one of Question Time's audience members, Sarah Roberts, who said: "In 1968 the MP for Wolverhampton South West [Enoch Powell] was ostracised by his own party for his views on immigration.

"Should Suella Braverman receive the same treatment?"

The speech delivered by Ms Braverman initially received a standing ovation at the Conservative Party speech, however, the speech was met with criticism from others.

Panellist Emma Dabiri, said: "I don't see how you couldn't make a comparison. The use of the word hurricane is not incidental.

"I really feel that we need to be extremely vigilant because people are manipulated into thinking migrants pose a threat when really the real threat is posed by us leaving the European Court of Human Rights which they are using, like the small boats policy."

However, Conservative North West Durham MP and Government Transport Minister, Richard Holden, said: "There is no comparison between what Enoch Powell said and what Suella Braverman said.

"It's the language she's chosen to use in this context. It basically highlights the fact that there are so many people around the world who want to move for all sorts of reasons.

"The West cannot take those numbers of people. It's highlighting the size of the problem."

HS2

Also on everyone's lips was Rishi Sunak's announcement of the cancellation of the remaining legs of the HS2 plans, which was met with a mixed reaction from the nation.

Audience member, Jaz Chatha, asked: "Has scrapping HS2 helped or hindered the Conservative's chances at the next election?"

Richard Holden, Conservative MP, refuted the question, saying: "I don't think it is about whether or not we stay in Government, I think it is about the fundamentals of the project.

"I think we have to do the right thing, which says the fundamentals of this have changed, and the question now is whether you press ahead, or whether you instead say we will spend the £36 billion we would have spent on HS2 on other projects, which are more likely to provide bigger benefits for people right across the country."

However, Labour MP and shadow paymaster general, Jonathan Ashworth, said: "It's a fiasco isn't it? Billions of pounds of taxpayers money are thrown away and costs are out of control. By the way who was the finance minister who was supposed to be keeping a grip on these costs? Rishi Sunak.

"What we got yesterday was Rishi Sunak saying 'We have all these new projects across the country' but they are all projects that have been announced before, but have never been delivered on."

Smoking

The last question that was raised was from audience member Mitchell Humphries, who asked if the panel agreed with Sunk's plan to raise the legal age of smoking yearly.

Best-selling author and panellist, Tony Parsons, said: "I was a 13-a-day man, not the mild stuff, the full strength, what stopped me was watching my father dying of lung cancer.

"It's well-intentioned. The numbers add up. But if I was a little 14-year-old behind the bike shed having my fag today, it would make it seem more glamorous and it would make me feel more like a rebel or a bad boy.

"It's fantastically addictive, it's fantastically addictive, but I think you need a shock to stop, and I don't think legislation goes far enough."