Jack Monroe: what did chef say about cost of living crisis on BBC Question Time - what did she add on Twitter?

Jack Monroe made a Question Time appearance for the ages on Thursday (1 June) as the popular chef and food campaigner had her say on the cost-of-living crisis. She argued the problem stems from 13 years of austerity under the Conservative Party and blamed cuts on public services for jeopardising the fundamentals of British society.

It comes at a time when people in the UK are battling high inflation, increased use of food banks and soaring energy bills, on top of other issues like spiralling mortgage rates that are financially pounding households.

This week's episode of Question Time was held in Leicester as Monroe was joined on the panel by Tory MP George Freeman, Labour's Jess Phillips, chancellor of Oxford University Chris Patten and Nimco Ali from The Five Foundation.

Following Monroe's appearance on the BBC programme, her responses to some questions have gone viral on social media, as the activist has been on the receiving end of praise for her criticism of current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the government of every Conservative PM before him.

But what did Jack Monroe say on Question Time and how have viewers reacted? Here is what you need to know.

What did Jack Monroe say on Question Time?

Responding to a question from a live audience member in Leicester, who asked when can people expect to feel 'better off' amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, Monroe explained: "We’ve been hearing a lot over the last year-and-a-half now about the cost of living crisis, as though it’s fallen out of a clear blue sky.

“It’s not a cost of living crisis – let’s be absolutely clear – although it is for everybody at the sharp end of it and that’s millions and millions of people, it’s a cost of Conservatives crisis, it’s a cost of austerity crisis, it’s a cost of 13 years of pulverising all social support and all of those safety nets we used to have in place that propped up the fundamentals of a decent society.

The food campaigner continued: “It’s the cost of stripping out the NHS and social care and refuges and welfare and all the support that many, many people and voters might have thought they never would have needed, they didn’t think that they were going to ever be one of those people who would have to dip into those parts.

"I’ve been working with food banks and with people in poverty for the last 10 years. I’ve never known anything like the sheer scale of desperation and crisis that we’re facing at the moment as a country and the only thing that is going to change it is investment back into all of those services that have been stripped away and making sure that when people find themselves in a desperate situation that there’s some help and some support out there for them - and I hope for your sake and everybody else’s sake that that happens yesterday, but certainly sooner rather than later.”

Audience reaction to Jack Monroe's Question Time rant

Viewers rushed to social channels to react to Jack Monroe's rant about the cost of living crisis, with one posting on Twitter: "Could you love Jack Monroe any more? Right on point on #BBCQT! No wonder those holding power are so afraid of her and people like her - well-informed, so in touch with the people, and with a proper moral compass. It's actually therapeutic listening to her."

Another posted: "Jack Monroe laying down TRUTH. Tories have decimated this country," while a user wrote: "Jack Monroe telling it as it is."

"Have to say Jack Monroe is a much needed addition to #bbcqt. Jack and, a little surprising, Chris Patten have been outstanding tonight," someone else observed.

What did Jack Monroe say on Twitter?

Due to the viral reaction to her comments on Question Time, the chef took to social media to thank people for their kind messages, as well as discuss the issue further. Monroe has also revealed that following her first-ever appearance on the BBC programme, she has been invited back already.

On Twitter, Jack Monore wrote: "Thanks all for your supportive #BBCQT comments tonight - all I try to do is carry a message, that millions of people who don’t get the same opportunities, need those in power to hear. I don’t always get it right, but I do my best. (And no, we don’t get the questions in advance!)

"They’ve already asked me if I’ll come back, so I guess those red boots with the gold stiletto heel have now inadvertently become my Lucky Boots… god help my arches and ankles, but they’re a great deal of fun! (For very short, flat distances…)"