Overview
- On BBC Question Time, Nadine Dorries and Green MP Ellie Chowns argued over Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments describing the UK as being “colonised” by immigrants.
- Dorries, now with Reform UK, said Ratcliffe’s broader point stood despite his numerical error and called the Green Party’s so‑called open borders stance “insane.”
- Chowns rejected immigration as the country’s main problem, citing inequality and decades of underinvestment in housing and public services, drawing applause from the audience.
- Presenter Fiona Bruce clarified that the UK population rose by about 12 million since 1995, not in the past five years, when the increase was under three million.
- Ratcliffe has apologised for his language and said he supports controlled and well‑managed immigration that he argues should underpin economic growth.