Why women (including me) say 'no' to Question Time

... I can only answer for myself, of course but here are some of the things that flash through my mind when yet another invitation comes along. Do I want to travel to Aberystwyth (yes, that was the last location I was offered) on a Thursday afternoon, to arrive home at maybe two or three am on Friday which is my busiest working day of the week? Do I want to spend the previous week preparing answers for every conceivable whimsical question that might be asked when I actually need to be concentrating on the one or two issues that are my chief journalistic concerns of the moment? Do I want to compete for a few seconds airtime with a handful of maniacally ambitious politicians who are determined to hog the show? (On one memorable programme, a very senior LibDem figure cut across me every single time that I was called on to speak.) Do I want to be bayed at by a well-organised crew of political axe-grinders in the audience?

So, generally speaking, I am afraid that I find myself thinking, "Who needs it?" Read more