Things got seriously tense on live TV as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson clashed with Tory MP Richard Holden in a fiery panel debate over the local elections. What was meant to be a political discussion quickly descended into a war of words, with Phillipson visibly fuming at Holden’s repeated interruptions and personal digs.
As the two sat alongside each other on a BBC panel, Holden wasted no time launching into an aggressive critique of Labour’s first nine months in office, throwing in a few jabs at Phillipson’s record along the way. She didn’t take it lying down, reported the Mirror.
“You wouldn’t know from that, really, how badly the Conservatives were defeated last July,” she fired back. “Not an ounce of contrition, not an ounce of understanding about the terrible mess that they left behind. That’s why people kicked them out in big numbers, and that’s what we are turning around.”
As Holden pressed on, claiming the economy had grown faster under the Tories and cutting across her repeatedly, Phillipson finally snapped: “Richard, you’re always so hostile. Just, let’s kind of just take it down a notch.”
But Holden wasn’t letting up, insisting he was just “telling the truth.” Phillipson tried to question whether the public really felt the economy had worked under the Tories, only to be interrupted again. When she attempted to speak once more, Holden barked: “You asked a question and I give you an answer and then you attack me for answering. Come on, Bridget, you can’t have it both ways.”
She shot back, clearly frustrated: “If I could just occasionally get a word in edgeways, Richard, you left a terrible mess behind and from everything that you said this evening, not an ounce of understanding.”
The argument kept going as they sparred over allegations that Holden had used his Tory Party influence to secure a safer seat for himself ahead of the general election — a claim that’s caused more than a bit of chatter in Westminster.
Later in the programme, Phillipson admitted that the local elections would be “a challenge” for Labour, acknowledging that while they’ve started making changes, the public is impatient and expecting more. “Whatever happens tonight, we want to go further and faster in demonstrating the change that we’re bringing to people’s lives,” she said.
With over 1,600 council seats in play and Reform UK threatening to disrupt both main parties, the heat in the studio may just be a taste of what’s to come.
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