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This week's panel  listen to how irate the audience becomes CLICK TO LISTEN or watch at    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t1q9 WATCH THE LATEST PROGRAMME 14/05/2009 12 months left to watch With Margaret Beckett, Theresa May, Ming Campbell, Steve Easterbrook and Benedict Brogan. Question Time, the BBC's premier political debate programme chaired by David Dimbleby, was in Grimsby on Thursday 14 May. The panel included the Housing Minister Margaret Beckett, Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May, former leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Menzies Campbell, assistant editor of the Daily Telegraph Benedict Brogan, and the CEO of McDonald's UK Steve Easterbrook.  MARGARET BECKETT MP Career: Margaret Beckett is the Housing Minister. She returned to cabinet last year, having previously held a number of high-ranking posts, including foreign secretary. One of the longest-serving members of the government, she has held ministerial and shadow-ministerial posts almost continuously for 34 years, since Harold Wilson made her a government whip in 1975. She was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party in 1992 under John Smith, and temporarily led the party following his death in 1994, the only woman ever to do so, albeit in an acting role. She subsequently ran for the leadership, but lost out to Tony Blair. This week she defended a rejected expenses claim she had submitted for large gardening bills on her Derby constituency home, saying: "Sometimes things are done in a rush, at the last minute, when you're busy." Return to top THERESA MAY MP Career: Theresa May is the Conservative shadow secretary of state for work and pensions. She was Conservative shadow leader of the House of Commons from 2005 to 2008. After eight years as a local councillor, she was elected as the MP for Maidenhead in 1997 and was promoted to the shadow cabinet in 1999, when she became shadow education and employment secretary. In July 2002, she became the first-ever female chairman of the Conservative Party and made headlines when she referred to the Tories as "the nasty party" in her conference speech that year. Last week, she reacted to revelations in the press about MPs' expenses claims, by calling on MPs "to reduce the cost of politics overall". She went on: "We recognise that there is a real need. People do feel that they are not able to have the confidence that they should be able to have in Parliament and in their politicians." Return to top SIR MENZIES CAMPBELL MP Career: Ming Campbell is the former leader of the Liberal Democrats. Before entering politics, he was an athlete, running the 200 metres for the Great Britain team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and holding the British 100 metres record from 1967 to 1974. He was elected to Parliament in 1987 as the Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife. He represented his party on defence and foreign affairs, and went on to serve as leader of the Liberal Democrats from March 2006 until October 2007. Last week he attacked the government's handling of the Ghurkas' right to live in the UK, saying it is "based not on being brave, but on being recognised as having been brave". He went on: "Anyone who has been engaged in conflict will say that some of the bravest and most selfless acts of heroism are committed by people who never receive any recognition of any kind whatever." Return to top BENEDICT BROGAN Career: Benedict Brogan is the assistant editor of the Daily Telegraph, and the paper's chief political correspondent. One of Westminster's most prominent commentators, he had previously worked at the Telegraph between 2000 and 2004, and spent five years at the Daily Mail, four as political editor. Since last week, the Telegraph has published details of MPs' expenses that have caused controversy for all the main political parties, and led the prime minister this week to "apologise on behalf of politicians and all parties''. Benedict Brogan has declined to say whether the paper paid for the leaked information, and says: "We've established this information is reliable and it is certainly in the public interest that we publish it." He has defended the paper against claims by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson that "this is not objective journalism. It is a political operation" saying: "This is about the House of Commons, not an individual party. It is about MPs, and their refusal - despite the advice of the High Court and the Information Tribunal - to come clean... Rest assured all parties are implicated, ministers and backbenchers, Tories and Lib Dems as well as Labour." Return to top STEVE EASTERBROOK Career: Steve Easterbrook is the CEO of McDonald's UK. He joined the company in 1993 after a career as an accountant, becoming president in 2006. He sits on the Confederation of British Industry's Chairmen's Committee and is also a member of the steering group of The Prince's Rainforests Project, which helps find practical solutions to tackling tropical deforestation. McDonalds announced a 4% rise in profits last month and announced in January that it planned to open 1,000 restaurants worldwide in 2009. In the same month, the company also announced that it would start to offer apprenticeships resulting in City and Guild qualifications.