Question Time Under 30s Special: Key facts as all seven political parties to face grilling by young people

Senior figures from each party to face questions from audience of young voters

Emma Snaith
Monday 09 December 2019 12:15 GMT
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General Election 2019: Opinion polls over the last seven days

All seven political parties will be going head-to-head in a general election Question Time special featuring an audience of voters aged 30 or under.

The final televised debate scheduled before the ballot will see young voters quiz politicians on a range of topics from the cost of living to job opportunities, education, housing and Brexit.

The previous Question Time special saw Boris Johnson defending himself against charges of racism as Jeremy Corbyn declared he would be “neutral” in a second Brexit referendum.

What time is the debate and how can I watch?

The showdown will last one-and-a-half hours and be broadcast on BBC One from 8.30pm on Monday.

The discussion is being staged in York and will be moderated by BBC Five Live and Newsnight presenter Emma Barnett.

The BBC said the panel would feature party leaders including Jo Swinson from the Liberal Democrats, the Brexit Party's Nigel Farage, Adam Price from Plaid Cymru and Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party.

Housing minister Robert Jenrick will represent the Conservatives, while Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, will appear for Labour. ​Humza Yousaf, the SNP's justice secretary in the Scottish government, completes the lineup.

Ms Barnett said: “Young voters and their needs should not be forgotten about by the party leaders this election. From the cost of living, to job opportunities, education, housing, Brexit and beyond - this special programme will seek answers to these burning questions from an important but often overlooked perspective.

“These people are at the beginning of their voting career and this election will be generation defining.”

What happened during the last Question Time election special

The first Question Time special of the election campaign saw party leaders Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon and Jo Swinson grilled by a live audience.

Mr Corbyn declared he would be “neutral” in a second Brexit referendum, as Boris Johnson was forced to defend himself against charges of racism.

After entering the election on a pitch that she could become prime minister, Ms Swinson acknowledged that it would be “a strange thing” if she ended up in Downing Street during the debate.

First minister Nicolas Sturgeon said she believed that Mr Corbyn would drop his resistance to an “IndyRef2” if he needed SNP support for a minority administration in a hung parliament.

And the BBC later admitted to making a “mistake” when it edited footage of Boris Johnson to remove the sound of audience members laughing at him in a clip of the debate shown on BBC News.

Which other Question Time specials are planned?

Monday’s debate will be followed by another Question Time special titled The Result on Friday, the day after the general election.

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