WELWYN Hatfield MP Grant Shapps made his debut on BBC political panel show Question Time last night (Thursday).

The Conservative minister was a last minute replacement for Tory chairman Baroness Warsi, who was unable to appear.

Mr Shapps took his place alongside Question Time host David Dimbleby, Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes, Labour leadership candidate Dianne Abbott, historian David Starkey and actor Brian Cox, at the debate being filmed in Manchester, where the Labour Party Conference was being held.

Mr Shapps, the housing and government minister, answered questions on a range of topics, and argued that the recent election of Ed Milliband as Labour leader had pulled the party further left.

He also dismissed Diane Abbott’s claims that the Government’s drastic spending cuts were “ideological”, branding her comments “absolute rubbish”.