All-female audience for Question Time

Question Time, the BBC's premier political debate programme, has an all-female audience this week as the panel go to Dewsbury on Thursday 11 March.

The panel includes the former Europe minister Caroline Flint, local government minister Justine Greening, Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Jo Swinson, gardener and television presenter Monty Don and the columnist Kelvin MacKenzie.

CAROLINE FLINT

Caroline Louise Flint is the Labour MP for Don Valley.

She began her career with the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) as a management trainee and became an MP in 1997. She joined the Government in June 2003 as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office.

She has since worked in the Department of Health and became Minister of State for Housing and Planning in 2007.

In 2007 she managed Hazel Blears' campaign for the Labour deputy leadership.

In 2008, Brown appointed her the Minister for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

She resigned from her role in June last year, accusing Mr Brown of using female minister as "female window dressing" and of running a "two-tier" government.

JUSTINE GREENING

Justine Greening is the Conservative MP for Putney and Shadow Communities and Local Government Minister.

After university she qualified as an accountant, working for GlaxoSmithKline and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

At the 2001 general election she unsuccessfully contested Ealing for the Conservatives, before winning Putney back from Labour in 2005. At 36, she was the youngest female MP in her party at the time.

As Shadow Minister for the London, she will be leading the Conservatives' campaign in the capital at the forthcoming election. She has also spearheaded Tory opposition to a third runway at Heathrow.

JO SWINSON

Jo Swinson is the Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire and Shadow Foreign Affairs spokesperson.

After leaving university she worked in Yorkshire as marketing manager for Emap radio station Viking FM, then in Glasgow for a media business.

Swinson was elected to Parliament in May 2005, becoming the youngest MP in parliament until last year. Nick Clegg appointed her spokesman for foreign affairs when he became the party leader in January 2008.

She has chaired the Liberal Democrat campaign for gender balance since 2004 and has said: "Although we can and should celebrate how far we have come, we must recognise that we're far from the end of the journey to secure equality."

MONTY DON

Monty Don is a gardener, television presenter, writer and president of the Soil Association.

He was the presenter of BBC Two's Gardeners' World from 2003 until 2008 when he stepped down after suffering a stroke. He also presented the acclaimed BBC Two series Around The World in 80 Gardens.

Most recently he presented a six part series on BBC2 called Mastercrafts which celebrates six of the traditional crafts that built our nation and its heritage.

He recently said that "We no longer believe in banks, we no longer believe in politicians, we hardly believe in doctors, we don't believe in the weather, we don't believe in the food we eat.

"People are looking for surety, they're looking for things they can make and know are good, rather than things they can buy or that other people sold to them."

KELVIN MACKENZIE

Kelvin MacKenzie is a columnist and former editor of the Sun.

Since the age of 16, MacKenzie has worked as a journalist. He has written for many local newspapers and the Daily Express. At 36 he was appointed the editor of The Sun.

Since leaving his position as editor, he continued to write for the newspaper and has been managing director at BSkyB, then Mirror Television.

In May 2008, MacKenzie stood unsuccessfully for election as a local councillor in Elmbridge, Surrey. He later announced that he would be standing against David Davis but subsequently decided not to run.