BBC Audience Applause For Labour MP’s Blistering Slap Back To Tory MPs Criticism
Labour MP Lucy Powell left the BBC Question Time audience in applause after she delivered a blistering retort to Conservative MP Graham Stuart, blasting his party’s misconduct in return for his criticism of Labour’s recent handling of anti-Semitism from party candidates.
Stuart, the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero interrupted Powell while she was talking to demand her party “come clean” about which other Labour MPs were at the meeting in which former candidate Azhar Ali reportedly made anti-semitic comments – over which Labour dropped support.
“You know what Graham, I honestly won’t take lectures from you,” Powell snapped back.
Powell, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, rounded to attack Tory handling of sexual misconduct allegations as proof of a serious moral corruption within Stuart’s party. She referred by name to former Tory MP Chris Pincher, who quit the party amid mounting pressure following groping allegations triggering a by-election in his constituency.
The allegations against Pincher led to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s political end, when it was revealed that Johnson knew of a probe into Pincher’s behaviour three years prior, yet proceeded to assign him a government position responsible for the welfare of MPs.
Powell said: “We’ve had many by-elections over these past few years as a result of your MPs, going around misbehaving, going around taking money and asking questions in parliament, going around exposing themselves to their staff, going around creating mayhem, Chris Pincher: Pincher by name, pincher by nature.”
Reflecting on the Tory Party’s lack of action against misconduct, she added: “When your party stood by those people at every stage I will not take any lectures from you on party discipline.”
The response drew applause from the audience.
The clash comes on the same time night the Conservatives suffered a double by-election defeat after losing two previously considered safe seats to Labour. In addition, the results showed that the party is also bleeding votes on the right to the Reform UK party.
