When Fiona Bruce asked former Conservative MP Nadine Dorries her thoughts on Kemi Badenoch, the politician squirmed – much to the amusement of the Question Time audience
Former Tory MP Nadine Dorries squirmed on Question Time when Fiona Bruce called her out for “attacking Kemi Badenoch”.
Ms Dorries, 67, struggled to find a retort when the host of the BBC show quoted her as saying the new Conservative leading “is not working”. Despite Ms Bruce pressing the former Culture Secretary for clarity, Ms Dorries was unable to expand on her thoughts about the Leader of the Opposition.
Instead, she rambled about her passion for the Conservative Party and eventually suggested Ms Badenoch “needs time to bed in” and called on the leader to develop new policies.
The lively exchange happened during Question Time’s first episode of 2025 – filmed in Northampton this week – amid a discussion around Labour’s economic plan. Ms Dorries, who quit as MP for Mid Bedfordshire in 2023, blasted the Government, accusing it of having “no plan” and “no hope”.
But Ms Bruce challenged the guest, highlight Ms Badenoch’s apology on Thursday for her party’s botched Brexit without a plan. The host said: “I just wanted your view because you were in Government at the time. She said ‘we announced that we’d leave the European Union before we had a plan for growth outside the EU. We made it law that we’d deliver net zero by 2050, and only then did we start thinking about how we’d do that.'”
Ms Dorries hesitated at the point, almost smirking, as the audience in Northampton erupted into laughter. The guest added: “Look, I don’t want to attack Kemi Badenoch. She’s a new leader, and I don’t want to attack her.”
Ms Bruce pointed out she already had, to which the audience laughed again. She added: “You said, ‘she’s not working.’ So do you just want to tell us what you mean by that?”
But Ms Dorries, who left government just before Liz Truss’ brief tenure started, struggled to compose herself amid the interrogation. She insisted: “I will die a Conservative… The Conservative Party is the longest standing, the greatest party in politics as far as I’m concerned, the most successful certainly” as she rambled to dodge Ms Bruce’s line of fire.
The presenter persisted to get clarity from the former Culture Secretary but Ms Dorries only went onto say Ms Badenoch, who became the party’s leader in November, needs time to settle into the role. She said: “Give her time. Kemi needs time to bed in, she’s a new leader but what we do need are some policies. That’s what we need.”
Ms Bruce then turned to Sir Chris Bryant, Science and Culture Minister, who insisted Labour’s economic plan will work. He blasted the “shocking inheritance” his party received when it romped to success at the General Election last year.