Summary of complaint
We received complaints from people unhappy that Nigel Farage was on the programme and concerns regarding wider party representation in general.
Our response
Nigel Farage was asked to be a panellist on the programme as a prominent member of Reform UK. He was previously an influential campaigner for Brexit, leader of UKIP and the Brexit Party and has also been an MEP for 20 years. The programme on 30th May was just prior to Mr Farage taking over as leader of Reform UK.
In the lead up to the election, the ±«Óãtv has invited the leaders of the seven biggest political parties to participate in televised debates, so our audience can have the facts and information they need to help them make their democratic choice. Question Time is a long-established debate programme that gives our audience the opportunity to question, challenge, and hold to account representatives of political parties during the campaign. The panel features representatives from the UK government and a politician of the opposition, with representatives from other political parties across the series, taking as its guide the level of electoral support at national level which each party enjoys. This is with the aim to achieve fair and appropriate representation from the various political parties across the UK. Parties such as the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and Reform UK are therefore invited to join the panel.