A BBC Question Time audience member sparked laughter after they questioned whether it said something about the Conservative Party that they needed a ‘Minister for Common Sense’.
Although not an official role, the current Cabinet Minister without Portfolio Esther McVey has been given the title by many political commentators as she has the freedom to oversee many of her colleagues’ decisions.
But tonight an audience member cheekily questioned the position, musing: “I just wondered whether it tells us something in that the Tory party need a minister for common sense?”
Shrugging at the end of her question, the woman’s observation was met with howls of laughter from the audience as a non-plussed looking Ms McVey was focused on by the camera.
The awkward moment was broken when Ms Bruce asked: “What is a minister for common sense, Esther?”
Responding, the Tory minister said “in the media I was dubbed the minister for common sense” and Ms McVey made clear that her role is “minister in the Cabinet Office without portfolio” and her job involved “scrutiny” and oversight.
Ms McVey added that Tory grandee Ken Clarke had held the position, as well as Peter Madelson for the Labour Party.
Pressing, Ms Bruce asked: “So is the whole common sense thing, inaccurate?”
Defending decisions taken by the Government, Ms McVey said Rishi Sunak had delayed scrapping of diesel and petrol cars to meet impractical net zero targets and scrapped the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2.
Ms Bruce conceded these things had happened but said: “Now you are minister for common sense, is that suggesting that the ministers that are already doing their jobs in the various departments and the Cabinet, they don’t have enough common sense, so you’ve got to come in and display more common sense? Literally how does it work?
Ms Bruce’s comments were greeted a loud round of applause from the audience but Ms McVey stuck to her guns and said “they do have common sense, absolutely”, only for Ms Bruce to interrupt saying “but just not quite enough?”.
