COMEDIAN Susie McCabe has been applauded for her straight-talking answers on BBC’s Question Time in debates on independence and public spending.
The stand-up was praised for her “brilliant” responses and for making a compelling case for independence and a second referendum on Thursday night’s show, which was filmed in Inverness.
Her performance drew acclaim from rapper and author Darren McGarvey, who tweeted: “[McCabe is] doing such a good job bringing a level of seriousness to these issues despite having a licence to break the tension”.
Addressing concerns about EU membership and international trade, McCabe said: “I don’t know if there will be a referendum, right, I tell jokes for a living, I am not a lawyer.
“My personal view is, I hope there is a referendum. And just to a few points that have been brought up there – we’re talking about the vote to stay in the Union. In 2014 I was told, ‘Oh, if you vote No, you’ll still be in the EU, if you vote Yes, you’ll be out the EU.
“That’s a massive issue for Scotland, we’re a small country with a falling population, we need that migration, in this area alone for tourism, you need that.
“If we go across a little bit to other places like Ullapool, they need that EU membership for their fresh produce that Murdo [Fraser, Conservative MSP] so kindly listed the other day on GB News, all the fresh produce that we export to the EU.”
I don’t know if there’ll be a Scottish independence referendum but just a few points - Susie McCabe #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/CbzSNCe0wM
— Phantom Power (@PhantomPower14) June 30, 2022
And she put forward arguments to assuage fears around which currency an independent Scotland, adding: “With regards to the currency, Mervyn King, on STV tonight, Mervyn King, a man who ran the Bank of England for ten years actually said it was entirely feasible for Scotland to keep the pound and have a shared currency.
“Mervyn King, his job was to run the Bank of England, and he’s like, ‘Yep, no, it’s entirely feasible.’”
She summed up by making the broader argument for independence as a chance to tackle poverty and inequality and said her Yes vote would be for future generations.
“We’re talking about societies split down the middle,” McCabe added.
“If we’re not going to do things because they’re divisive, that’s an absolutely ridiculous argument.
“We live in a country shaped by social class, right. Social class is divisive. Our education systems are divisive.
Hi Twitter , thanks for all the nice comments re Question Time. Like you I have my political beliefs and they won’t align with everyone and that’s ok. It’s good to have the debate I am not a member of any political party so I never have any skin in the game. Have a great weekend
— Susie McCabe (@susie_mccabe) July 1, 2022
“Yes, there’s inequality, yes, there’s poverty, I believe, personally, my vote towards independence, it’s not going to be an easy road. It’s going to be a difficult road, but I’m willing to take a chance on it.
“Now, I don’t have kids but my mates have kids and I’ve got kids in my family, and that vote just isn’t maybe for me, that vote is for further down the line.”
Among those to praise McCabe’s contributions were Neil Gray, the SNP Culture Secretary, who tweeted: “There has been some absolute nonsense, at times downright lies, left unchallenged on BBC Question Time tonight, but Angus Robertson [Constitution Secretary] and Susie McCabe, the audience have been brilliant, not just on indyref2 but other issues raised too.”
“Isn’t is amazing how in 2008 we found all the money to bail out banks?” Comedian @Susie_Mccabe says the government needs to use whatever mechanisms possible to “find the money” to support public sector workers. #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/eekWicoQTO
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) June 30, 2022
Other viewers praised Robertson’s contributions during the debate including pointing out a pro-Union member of the audience was actually a Scottish Conservative activist who had worked with party leader Douglas Ross.
The pair appeared on the panel with host Fiona Bruce, Spectator editor Fraser Nelson, Tory MSP Craig Hoy and Labour’s MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy.
