Webchat with three experts on Brexit and the EU, on Thursday 24 January 11.30am

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

Following on from the webchat on Brexit and beyond with Anna Soubry on Tuesday, we’re pleased to announce a webchat on Brexit and the EU, with three guests from The UK in a Changing Europe on Thursday 24 January at 11.30am.

Professor Jonathan Portes is senior fellow at The UK in a Changing Europe and Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Department of Political Economy at King's College London. Previously, he was principal research fellow of the National Institute of Economic & Social Research. Before that he was chief economist at the Cabinet Office, and previous to that chief economist at the Department of Work and Pensions.

Professor Catherine Barnard is senior fellow at The UK in a Changing Europe; Professor in European Union Law and Employment Law at the University of Cambridge; and senior tutor and fellow of Trinity College. Catherine specialises in EU law and employment law.

Professor Barnard will be doing the webchat remotely, and will have to leave early, at 12pm.

Professor Anand Menon is Director of The UK in a Changing Europe and Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London. He has held positions at Sciences Po, Columbia University and NYU. He has written on many aspects of contemporary Europe and is a frequent commentator on national and international media and you may have seen him on Question Time last week.

Professors Menon, Barnard and Portes joined us before for a webchat on the ‘divorce agreement’ and possible outcomes in November last year - you can check out that webchat here if you fancy refreshing your memory.

And finally - we are currently trying to line up a pro-Brexit webchat guest as well.

Please do join the chat on Thursday. If you can’t make it, please leave a question here in advance. Do bear in mind the webchat guidelines - one question each (follow-ups allowed if there’s time), and please be polite. Also following recent chats/guest posts we’ve updated our guidelines to let people know that, if one topic is overwhelmingly dominating a discussion with a guest, mods might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. Rest assured we will ALWAYS let guests know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

Thanks
MNHQ

[onalongsabbatical]

Thank you for your time. Are there any international laws and/or sanctions that can be brought to bear on the UK government in the event of the threat of a no-deal Brexit on the grounds that we will be breaking our signed up commitment to the Good Friday Agreement?

[Quietrebel]

Hello, thanks for coming back to MN.
I was very surprised reading about J Rees-Mogg's suggestion to Mrs May to effectively suspend parliament in order to prevent an amendment blocking no deal to be passed. Is there any precedent to such a situation and any way such a move could be countered by MPs?

[TheNumberfaker]

I have recently met people who say that they are not at all worried about no-deal or that there will be a few years of hardship but then everything will be much better for the UK.
What are the most significant consequences of no-deal in your opinion(s)?

[twofingerstoEverything]

Following on from the question above, are there any benefits to a no deal?

[Papu5000]

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions,
My children and I have French passports but live in the UK (all kids born in the UK) we were planning to drive to France in April, is there anything we should be aware of? (New laws, restrictions...)

[ItsMEhooray]

I live in Northern Ireland. Do you think travel from NI to GB will be affected after B day?

[SilverySurfer]

And finally - we are currently trying to line up a pro-Brexit webchat guest as well.

Really? Sounds a bit like an after thought.

[Deadbudgie]

As the Irish government, the DUP and UK government have stated that there will be no hard border but the EU have said a hard border is an inevitable consequence of a no deal scenario, how will the EU force a border on the island of Ireland.

If Ireland and the UK refused to implement one would the EU be forcing the contravention of an international peace agreement by demanding one and what could the EU do to Ireland if they refused to put the border in place?

[FreshFreesias]

I’m glad you are trying’ to find a pro-Brexit contributor to add diversity to your webchat consisting of 3 EU experts’ who all voted to remain.

As you have 17.4 million Brexit voters to choose from, hopefully your struggle will not be too hard.

[Worldweary]

We were given alot of information (spurious or not) during the referendum campaign on how much the EU was costing us and how we could divert the money more gainfully, if we left. I live in a rural area. Not one that overwhelmingly voted to leave. It was 50/50. I worked in a benefits office for quite some time and have seen first hand how lack of regional investment cripples the lives of job seekers e.g. highly-priced bus services that run a couple of days a week or pack up at 3.00 in the afternoon. For those on the panel who have special access to future government plans - Is there any evidence, from the government, that they have plans to channel their newly-acquired funds into regenerating the outlying parts of the UK?

[SilverySurfer]

Yes, should be a doddle Fresh. There's nothing like a good, balanced debate and this is nothing like one.

[BlueEyeshadow]

I'm a freelance translator so when I work for people or companies in the EU, I'm selling a service rather than a product. The government doesn't offer any advice to the many of us in that situation about how to keep running our businesses after Brexit. Is this anything that you know about? Thanks!

[Wimpling]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to answer questions!

What are the implications of the Trade Bill being shelved by the House of Lords? If it isn’t passed, will it affect our ability to trade on WTO rules if we crash out without a deal?

There are lots of other pieces of legislation queuing up to be passed, and it seems that there is not enough time left before 29 March. What does that mean for us in practice?

[bananacake2134]

Thank you to the panel for doing this web chat.

Do they think the EU tax directive and pension equalisation laws due to be enacted in April 2019 which will affect many wealthy Leave funders and beneficiaries is the reason for the rush (including the plea by Jacob Rees Mogg to shut down our elected representatives in parliament through the 'prorogue' bid)
to 'brexit' on 29th of March 2019?

[caringcarer]

Catherine, please can you inform us if we are legally (not morally) bound to pay the £39 billion to the EU if we leave with no deal? I think there may be an obligation to pay some money for pensions but have heard that they are less than half of the £39 billion total.

[bananacake2134]

Just to flag up folks the £39b some are planning to cheat on paying, costs less than 75p a week for most tax payers.

Cost of 2 Kit Kats a week, for access to Single market and Customs Union.

Or, as we will find out in 8 weeks: medicine and food to keep our families alive.

[lonelyplanetmum]

Thank you to the members of panel for their time and patience in answering questions.

There has been mention of the EU membership payment on the thread.

My question is therefore ' do the panel predict that the overall annual impact of Brexit on the U.K. economy in percentage terms is likely to be greater or smaller than annual EU membership contributions.' ?

I attach the government's own chart showing the EU membership fee, for ease of reference.

[bellinisurge]

Please can you lay out the likely consequences for the Irish economy of a no Deal Brexit?
Thank you.

[borntobequiet]

I’d be delighted if you could find a Brexit supporting panel that could actually answer questions put to them. Very few Leavers on Mumsnet threads even engage with questions properly, let alone answer them without resorting to untruths, slogans and soundbites.

[SalrycLuxx]

silvery they had JRM lined up, but apparently he cancelled...

My question: given the amount of money the EU is sinking into no deal preparation, and the reported murmurings on the continent that we should just leave, and the parliamentary infighting here - aren’t we just going to end up with Hard Brexit?

[MayhemandMadness01]

I'm facing redundancy on 31st March or potentially TUPE. Will TUPE exist after Brexit on 29th March?

[Mistigri]

Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.

I am reading a lot of reports on twitter about problems with the settled status process, such as problems with the passport recognition process, issues with government records which may result in apparent gaps in employment records for people who have worked continuously in the U.K. for many years, and people whose situation is less straightforward being asked to supply extensive documentation and wait many weeks for a response.

It's also clear that many people don't realise they have to apply, and some will refuse to do so.

What is your opinion on the number of people potentially at risk of a Windrush-type outcome, particularly in the event of no deal? How can that risk be mitigated?

[DippyAvocado]

Could you summarise what you believe the government's options are if the WA does not get through Parliament on a second vote? Thanks.

[derxa]

Given the sarcastic comments about fishermen on the last 'debate' I'll pass thanks.

[HopelesslydevotedtoGu]

What effect has Brexit had on the popularity of far right/ nationalist/ anti EU movements in other EU countries?