On 4th April 2019, Charles Moore accused BBC’s Question Time programme of being biased against Brexiters, quoting research from the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) that Remainers featured on the programme almost twice as much as Brexiters.
The host, Fiona Bruce, refused to accept that there was any bias, and BBC Question Time released the following statement on their Twitter profile:
“In response to the point made by @CharlesHMoore about our panels – we’d point out that since 2016 there’s been a range of competing and different positions on Brexit which #bbcqt has reflected both on the panel and from our audience.”
— Tweet from @bbcquestiontime, 22:47 on 4th April 2019.
It is true that BBC Question Time has featured people of varying opinions. However have Remainers and Brexiters been featured equally on the programme?
To answer this question, it is necessary to first define what constitutes a “Remainer” and a “Brexiter”. In this analysis, I have defined a Brexiter as anyone who voted Leave in the 2016 EU referendum, and who would still vote Leave in a future referendum. People who voted Remain in 2016, but had since said they would vote for Leave (Piers Morgan, Liz Truss are notable examples) have also been categorised as Brexiters.
“Remainers” are defined as anyone who voted Remain in 2016, and would likely vote Remain again in any future referendum. This includes many politicians, who although they have been trying to implement the 2016 vote to Leave, would still personally prefer the UK to remain in the EU. People like Ken Clarke, who is a fervent Remainer yet voted in favour of May’s EU Withdrawal Agreement, as well as ministers like Philip Hammond and Greg Clark, fall into this category. In short, people are judged to be Remainers or Brexiters based on how they would vote in a hypothetical 2nd referendum.
Several guests on the show have been less outspoken on their views regarding Brexit. In cases where their position is not public knowledge, their stance has been assigned based on their comments during the Question Time broadcast, as well as reaction to their comments on social media. For many of the more recent Question Time episodes, the Brexit stance of guests that were featured on the programme were listed in The New European (a pro-Remain publication), and they have been assumed to be accurate.
I have analysed 2017, 2018 and the first 13 episodes of 2019 (the episodes aired at the time of writing).
The balance of Leavers against Remainers in 2017 is illustrated below:

Excluding the two leaders debates preceding the General Election, there were 39 episodes of Question Time in 2017. Only two episodes (the 12th and 13th episodes of the year) featured more Brexiters than Remainers on the panel. The 15th and 19th episodes of the year featured no Brexiters on the panel at all.
In 2017, the Question Time panel featured 128 Remainers and 67 Brexiters – a big imbalance compared to the makeup of the nation which voted 52-48% in favour to Leave.
In 2018, Question Time featured the following panellists:

Only one episode, the 8th of the year, featured more Brexiters than Remainers on the panel. The 20th episode of the year featured no Brexiters at all. Remarkably, there were 13 episodes with only one Brexiter on the panel.
In 2018, the Question Time panel featured 131 Remainers and 64 Brexiters – a bigger imbalance than 2017.
So far in 2019, the Question Time panel has looked like the following:

Only one episode (the 6th of 2019), featured more Brexiters than Remainers on the panel. Six episodes (almost half the episodes broadcast so far this year) have featured only one Brexiter, and in total so far in 2019, Question Time has featured 44 Remainers and 21 Brexiters on the panel.
From the start of 2017 to the time of writing of this article, Question Time has featured 303 Remainers and 152 Brexiters, a bias of roughly 2:1. It is clear that although the country voted to Leave, and polls have not moved materially since the vote, Brexiters have been chronically underepresented on the UK’s premier politics and debating programme.
Panellist categorisations – 2017
In the following categorisations, Brexiters are displayed in Red, whilst Remainers are displayed in black.
# | No. in year | Airdate | Panellists |
1311 | 1 | 12-Jan-17 | David Lidington, Gisela Stuart, Paul Mason, Monica Grady, Arron Banks |
1312 | 2 | 19-Jan-17 | Chris Grayling, Emily Thornberry, Alistair Carmichael, Piers Morgan, Lionel Shriver |
1313 | 3 | 26-Jan-17 | Diane Abbott, James Cleverly, Angus Robertson, Susie Boniface, Geoff Norcott |
1314 | 4 | 02-Feb-17 | Patrick McLoughlin, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Maajid Nawaz, Nick Hewer, Laura Perrins |
1315 | 5 | 09-Feb-17 | Claire Perry, Owen Smith, Peter Whittle, Billy Bragg, Ann Widdecombe |
1316 | 6 | 16-Feb-17 | David Mundell, Shami Chakrabarti, John Swinney, Val McDermid, Mark Littlewood |
1317 | 7 | 23-Feb-17 | Justine Greening, Angela Rayner, Douglas Carswell, Peter Coates, Isabel Oakeshott |
1318 | 8 | 02-Mar-17 | Elizabeth Truss, Dawn Butler, Menzies Campbell, Peter Hitchens, Jamie MacColl |
1319 | 9 | 09-Mar-17 | Karen Bradley, Kezia Dugdale, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, Polly Toynbee, Fraser Nelson |
1320 | 10 | 16-Mar-17 | Jacob Rees-Mogg, Angela Eagle, Joanna Cherry, Matthew Parris, Tim Martin |
1321 | 11 | 23-Mar-17 | Brandon Lewis, Nia Griffith, Leanne Wood, Giles Fraser, Hugo Rifkind |
1322 | 12 | 27-Mar-17 | David Davis, Keir Starmer, Nick Clegg, Suzanne Evans, Melanie Phillips, Alex Salmond |
1323 | 13 | 30-Mar-17 | Ruth Davidson, Lisa Nandy, Paul Nuttall, Len McCluskey, Kate Andrews |
1324 | 14 | 06-Apr-17 | Suella Fernandes, Diane Abbott, Tim Farron, Jonathan Bartley, Gerard Coyne, Michelle Dewberry |
1325 | 15 | 27-Apr-17 | Damian Green, Clive Lewis, Jo Swinson, Stephen Gethins, Camilla Cavendish |
1326 | 16 | 04-May-17 | David Davis, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Paul Nuttall, Leanne Wood, Juergen Maier |
1327 | 17 | 11-May-17 | Ben Wallace, Joanna Cherry, Emily Thornberry, Merryn Somerset Webb, David Hayman |
1328 | 18 | 18-May-17 | Priti Patel, Angela Rayner, Vince Cable, Jonathan Bartley, Charles Moore |
1329 | 19 | 25-May-17 | Amber Rudd, Andy Burnham, Colin Parry, Sara Khan, Nazir Afzal |
1330 | 20 | 01-Jun-17 | David Davis, Barry Gardiner, Nick Clegg, Suzanne Evans, Angus Robertson |
— | 23 | 09-Jun-17 | Chris Grayling, Shami Chakrabarti, Isabel Oakeshott, Armando Iannucci, Alastair Campbell |
1331 | 24 | 15-Jun-17 | Tobias Ellwood, Emily Thornberry, Norman Lamb, Laura Perrins, Rob Delaney |
1332 | 25 | 22-Jun-17 | David Lidington, Jon Ashworth, Ian Blackford, Peter Oborne, Gina Miller |
1333 | 26 | 29-Jun-17 | Liam Fox, Stella Creasy, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Kerry-Anne Mendoza, Nick Ferrari |
1334 | 27 | 06-Jul-17 | Jacob Rees-Mogg, Richard Burgon, Caroline Lucas, Susie Boniface, Craig Oliver |
1335 | 28 | 14-Sep-17 | David Gauke, Dawn Butler, Kirsty Blackman, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Will Self |
1336 | 29 | 21-Sep-17 | Vince Cable, Kwasi Kwarteng, Jess Phillips, Dia Chakravarty, Paul Mason |
1337 | 30 | 28-Sep-17 | Karen Bradley, Ian Lavery, Peter Hitchens, Richard Tice, Ayesha Hazarika |
1338 | 31 | 05-Oct-17 | Damian Green, Angela Rayner, Michelle Dewberry, Sarah Churchwell, Fraser Nelson |
1339 | 32 | 12-Oct-17 | Theresa Villiers, Owen Smith, Simon Hamilton, John O’Dowd, Jonathan Lynn |
1340 | 33 | 19-Oct-17 | Chris Grayling, Lisa Nandy, Sal Brinton, Simon Wolfson, Richard Coles |
1341 | 34 | 26-Oct-17 | Jacob Rees-Mogg, Shami Chakrabarti, Alex Salmond, Camilla Tominey, Germaine Greer |
1342 | 35 | 02-Nov-17 | Daniel Hannan, Jeane Freeman, Kezia Dugdale, Anne McElvoy, Owen Jones |
1343 | 36 | 09-Nov-17 | Justine Greening, Stella Creasy, Kirstie Allsopp, Aditya Chakrabortty, Charles Moore |
1344 | 37 | 16-Nov-17 | Emily Thornberry, Nadhim Zahawi, Tim Farron, Rod Liddle, Val McDermid |
1345 | 38 | 23-Nov-17 | Greg Clark, Diane Abbott, Bernard Hogan-Howe, Dreda Say Mitchell, Stuart Rose |
1346 | 39 | 30-Nov-17 | Chuka Umunna, Sam Gyimah, Henry Bolton, Sarah Baxter, Yanis Varoufakis |
1347 | 40 | 07-Dec-17 | Bernard Jenkin, Owen Smith, Liz Saville Roberts, Kate Andrews, Richard Bacon |
1348 | 41 | 14-Dec-17 | Nicky Morgan, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Robert Winston, Isabel Oakeshott, Geoff Norcott |
Panellist categorisations – 2018
# | No. in year | Airdate | Panellists |
1349 | 1 | 11-Jan-18 | Dominic Raab, Dawn Butler, Gina Miller, Nish Kumar, Piers Morgan |
1350 | 2 | 18-Jan-18 | Margot James, Andy Burnham, Howard Davies, Munira Mirza, Dustin Lance Black |
1351 | 3 | 25-Jan-18 | Michael Forsyth, Chris Williamson, Fiona Hyslop, Maggie Chapman, Peter Oborne |
1352 | 4 | 01-Feb-18 | Justine Greening, John Mann, Jo Swinson, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Tim Stanley |
1353 | 5 | 08-Feb-18 | Claire Perry, Emily Thornberry, Richard Tice, Rachel Sylvester, Terry Christian |
1354 | 6 | 15-Feb-18 | Theresa Villiers, David Lammy, Richard Walker, Faiza Shaheen, Camilla Cavendish |
1355 | 7 | 22-Feb-18 | Brandon Lewis, John Prescott, Camilla Tominey, Ash Sarkar, Juergen Maier |
1356 | 8 | 01-Mar-18 | Kenneth Clarke, Owen Smith, Nigel Farage, Michelle Dewberry, Radzi Chinyanganya |
1357 | 9 | 08-Mar-18 | Liam Fox, Laura Pidcock, Roma Agrawal, George the Poet, Prue Leith |
1358 | 10 | 15-Mar-18 | Chris Grayling, Keir Starmer, Mairead McGuinness, Afshin Rattansi, Brian Cox |
1359 | 11 | 22-Mar-18 | James Cleverly, Shami Chakrabarti, Stewart McDonald, Paris Lees, Peter Hitchens |
1360 | 12 | 12-Apr-18 | Jo Johnson, Barry Gardiner, Jonathan Freedland, Kate Andrews, Nicola Horlick |
1361 | 13 | 19-Apr-18 | Elizabeth Truss, Emily Thornberry, Vince Cable, Nesrine Malik, Iain Dale |
1362 | 14 | 26-Apr-18 | Matthew Hancock, Diane Abbott, Caroline Lucas, Jen Robinson, Simon Evans |
1363 | 15 | 03-May-18 | David Lidington, Chi Onwurah, Matt Forde, Camilla Tominey, Martin Lewis |
1364 | 16 | 10-May-18 | Esther McVey, Chuka Umunna, Alejandro Agag, Chloe Westley, Akala |
1365 | 17 | 17-May-18 | Dominic Raab, Diane Abbott, Bernard Hogan-Howe, Camilla Cavendish, Aditya Chakrabortty |
1366 | 18 | 24-May-18 | Anna Soubry, Anneliese Dodds, Sarah Churchwell, Dominic Lawson, Lionel Shriver |
1367 | 19 | 31-May-18 | Kwasi Kwarteng, Caroline Flint, Kate Forbes, Darren McGarvey, Brian Souter |
1368 | 20 | 07-Jun-18 | Damian Hinds, Shami Chakrabarti, Richard Reed, Alison Phillips, Richard Madeley |
1369 | 21 | 14-Jun-18 | Dominic Grieve, John Mann, Leanne Wood, Isabel Oakeshott, Matthew Wright |
1370 | 22 | 21-Jun-18 | Damian Green, Jon Ashworth, Afua Hirsch, Tim Martin, Ella Whelan |
1371 | 23 | 28-Jun-18 | Suella Braverman, Clive Lewis, Johan Eliasch, Helen Lewis, Janet Street-Porter |
1372 | 24 | 05-Jul-18 | Priti Patel, Lisa Nandy, Ian Blackford, Matthew Parris, Carolyn Radford |
1373 | 25 | 12-Jul-18 | Claire Perry, Barry Gardiner, Gina Miller, Charles Moore, Piers Morgan |
1374 | 26 | 13-Sep-18 | Rory Stewart, Chris Leslie, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Faiza Shaheen, Theo Paphitis |
1375 | 27 | 20-Sep-18 | Chris Skidmore, Barry Gardiner, Vince Cable, Camilla Tominey, Nazir Afzal |
1376 | 28 | 27-Sep-18 | Jacob Rees-Mogg, Ian Lavery, Polly Mackenzie, Ayesha Hazarika, Rod Liddle |
1377 | 29 | 04-Oct-18 | David Gauke, Emily Thornberry, George the Poet, Isabel Oakeshott, Claude Littner |
1378 | 30 | 11-Oct-18 | Ross Thomson, Kezia Dugdale, Mike Russell, Fraser Nelson, Val McDermid |
1379 | 31 | 18-Oct-18 | James Cleverly, Keir Starmer, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Michael Dobbs, Nish Kumar |
1380 | 32 | 25-Oct-18 | Andrea Jenkyns, Lisa Nandy, Hannah Bardell, Sebastian Payne, Paul Mason |
1381 | 33 | 01-Nov-18 | Giles Watling, Andy McDonald, Anne McElvoy, Kate Andrews, Shappi Khorsandi |
1382 | 34 | 08-Nov-18 | Kwasi Kwarteng, Diane Abbott, Mairead McGuinness, David Aaronovitch, Jordan Peterson |
1383 | 35 | 15-Nov-18 | Claire Perry, Barry Gardiner, Liz Saville Roberts, Mark Serwotka, Tim Stanley |
1384 | 36 | 22-Nov-18 | Karen Bradley, Clive Lewis, Richard Walker, Trevor Phillips, Julia Hartley-Brewer |
1385 | 37 | 29-Nov-18 | Nadhim Zahawi, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Layla Moran, Tim Martin, Benjamin Zephaniah |
1386 | 38 | 06-Dec-18 | James Brokenshire, Shami Chakrabarti, Ian Blackford, Jill Rutter, Charles Moore |
1387 | 39 | 13-Dec-18 | David Davis, Nicky Morgan, Angela Rayner, Caroline Lucas, Jo Brand |
Panellist categorisations – 2019
# | No. in year | Airdate | Panellists |
1388 | 1 | 10-Jan-19 | James Cleverly, Emily Thornberry, Jo Swinson, Melanie Phillips, Nish Kumar |
1389 | 2 | 17-Jan-19 | Rory Stewart, Diane Abbott, Kirsty Blackman, Anand Menon, Isabel Oakeshott |
1390 | 3 | 24-Jan-19 | Suella Braverman, John Healey, Sonia Sodha, Iain Anderson, Nick Ferrari |
1391 | 4 | 31-Jan-19 | Helen Whately, Richard Burgon, Juergen Maier, Camilla Tominey, Gina Miller |
1392 | 5 | 07-Feb-19 | Michael Forsyth, Anneliese Dodds, Fiona Hyslop, Hugo Rifkind, Eunice Olumide |
1393 | 6 | 14-Feb-19 | Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lisa Nandy, Grace Blakeley, Geoff Norcott, Jimmy Wales |
1394 | 7 | 21-Feb-19 | Mel Stride, Andy McDonald, Chris Leslie, Ella Whelan, John Barnes |
1395 | 8 | 28-Feb-19 | Nadhim Zahawi, Barry Gardiner, Layla Moran, Lionel Shriver, Henning Wehn |
1396 | 9 | 07-Mar-19 | Dominic Raab, Margaret Beckett, Iain Martin, Javed Khan, Owen Jones |
1397 | 10 | 14-Mar-19 | James Cleverly, Clive Lewis, Ian Blackford, Catherine Barnard, Julia Hartley-Brewer |
1398 | 11 | 21-Mar-19 | Tobias Ellwood, Nick Thomas-Symonds, Jeffrey Donaldson, John O’Dowd, Polly Mackenzie |
1399 | 12 | 28-Mar-19 | Damian Hinds, Jenny Chapman, Simon Wolfson, Merryn Somerset Webb, Yanis Varoufakis |
1400 | 13 | 04-Apr-19 | Jeremy Wright, David Lammy, Mairead McGuinness, Charles Moore, Ash Sarkar |
This post was originally published by the author on his personal blog:
https://joelrwrites.wordpress.com/2019/04/08/has-question-time-been-unfairly-dominated-by-remainers/
What do you expect it’s from the reamainers at the BBC
Well done you, Joel, for doing the statistical research to expose the BBC’s nonsensical hypocrisy and pretence to be unbiased.
As Malcolm said above it is the from the ‘Brussels Broadcasting Corporation. Purveyors of Spin, fake news & smokescreens.’
Whoever selects who goes on Question Time, and whoever he or she reports to, plus the overall editor should be sacked for bringing the BBC into disrepute. They have to be out of their biased minds, at a time when the funding of this organisation is under debate.
Absolutely spot on
Well done for exposing it for how it is ! The BBC are a very biased organisation . It’s about time they were exposed
I am sick of Remoaners being given a platform to continue to lecture us if they love the EU so much piss off & move to it then eutruth.org.uk