Moment Question Time's Fiona Bruce breaks up tense housing row: 'Complete waste of time!'

Question Time host Fiona Bruce was forced to break up a heated housing debate on the BBC show as she issued a stern warning live on air. During Thursday's instalment (October 16) of the late-night politics show, the 61-year-old broadcaster welcomed Heidi Alexander, Helen Whately, Lisa Smart, Ash Sarkar, and Matthew Syed onto the show to answer the country's burning questions.

It didn't take long before the conversation turned to the pressure new houses are putting on public services. Conservative MP Helen Whately revealed one of the biggest issues she believes is a result of the influx of more housing across the UK is the lack of transport infrastructure. She argued: "What I see particularly, though, is a lack of transport infrastructure and more and more traffic.

"In my constituency here in Kent, there are thousands more homes on the way. Heidi, you said the government will change that - but I have no confidence that that's going to come with more road infrastructure."

The shadow secretary of state for work and pensions pointed out that the number of houses being built in London has gone down despite having the best transport infrastructure in the country. She added: "London's targets have been brought down, and London was already underperforming for years under its Labour Mayor, and now its targets have been brought down."

Labour MP Heidi Alexander, who serves as the Secretary of State for Transport, insisted: " They want homes in other parts of the country, not just London." Following some tense back and forth with several members of the panel, the Labour MP argued over her fellow panellists.

She argued: "You either get on and build and build in the best way so that you are providing the infrastructure that is needed as well, or you say, 'No, we're quite happy for people not to be able to afford a home'."

At this point, Fiona was forced to interrupt the debate. She pointed out, "If you talk at the same time, no one can hear what you're saying, and then it's a complete waste of time for both of you," before swiftly moving on to the next question from the audience.

It comes after Labour was warned that its proposed reforms to Capital Gains Tax could seriously damage the property market. Under the current UK tax law, primary residences are exempt from CGT.

However, the Government wants to remove or reduce this exemption for higher-value homes. While HMRC thresholds, rates, and exemptions have yet to be confirmed, UK homeowners have strongly rejected any changes as unfair, financially damaging, and potentially disruptive to the housing market.

The Chancellor's Autumn Budget on November 26 is expected to set out any modifications to the tax system. Rachel Reeves has acknowledged she is looking at potential tax rises and spending cuts to fill a hole in Britain's finances. She says the economy is still suffering from the impact of Brexit, austerity policies, and Liz Truss's mini-budget.