She was woefully unprepared and he was all over her like a lion on a wounded baby gazelle. That said, I have no idea why politicians couldn’t just say:
“We were challenged on this so we looked at the numbers again and realised that we had the leeway to cut the duty so, in response to public requests, we’re cutting it”
Which is basically what happened. But for some reason nobody can say “Hey we’re doing what the public want”. Either stick to your guns to reduce the debt or tell the truth. Don’t try both.
On the subject of Chloe Smith; I agree, I’d rather have someone with experience of life than someone trying to climb the greasy pole of politics more or less directly from Uni (given my guess is she had 4 years between leaving and being selected as a candidate).