EU Referendum: Webchat with Andrea Leadsom MP, Tuesday 14 June at 1pm

[BojanaMumsnet]

Andrea is currently a Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, having been promoted from Economic Secretary to the Treasury in 2015. Following the Leave campaign's victory in June 2016, and David Cameron's resignation, she became one of five candidates for the leadership of the Tory party.

She was elected as the Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire in 2010. Andrea says her three areas of personal interest are reform of the European Union, reform of the banking system and establishing a network of parent-infant psychotherapeutic support through a charity, PIP UK.

We were lucky enough to host a webchat with Andrea Leadsom in the lead-up to the referendum - you can read the questions and answers here.

(And just FYI, we do have Q&As from other referendum webchats and from other points of view: as always we did our level best to give both sides a fair and equal hearing!)

Peace and love,
MNHQ

Services account for about 78% of the UK economy
The UK also has the highest services export/GDP ratio in the G7.

It's not a detail, it's the main story!

So, to tell us that "of course the EU has free trade deals with everyone, it'll be easy for us to get the same without free movement" - when in fact the only countries whose trade deals include services are also the ones that are in the single market and that do have free movement...

...isn't this a bit misleading?

Oh what a surprise.

As usual the disabled question is blatantly ignored!

Don't know why I bother.

That was a very selective and disappointing web chat. Expected better.

Good Evening Andrea

Out of interest, how would a Brexit affect the rest of British overseas territories and the Channel Islands in your view?

Thank you

Oh bugger i missed it :\ i thought it would go on longer

sideorder I would have thought if we saty in then the commonwealth and overseas territories would have to accept their share of migrants? It just seems to be UK.

Was just wondering that today, as migration seems to be the biggest question?

genuine question.

sideorder I would have thought if we saty in then the commonwealth and overseas territories would have to accept their share of migrants? It just seems to be UK.

The Commonwealth consists of sovereign countries that make their own laws. Why on earth do we think we have the right to dictate to them? Many are Parliamentary democracies that decide for themselves their own immigration policy and when they will accept migrants and whether they wish to share in the allocation of asylum seekers.We have no power over those Commonwealth nations that are more in control of their own countries than we are of ours while we remain in the EU.

Canada for instance accepts many asylum seekers and migrants quite voluntarily.

The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth and also Head of State of many of those countries - but she doesn't tell the democratically elected Governments that exist within it what to do. We seem to think that being dictated to by foreign powers like the EU is OK? It isn't.

If you want to reduce immigration then start providing those countries that people emigrate from with trading opportunities. Trade allows them to grow their economies and become prosperous. the EU actively prevents trade outside the Eu and penalises countries that attempt to trade with it. The EU's rigid protection of its markets actually increases poverty in countries outside the EU that wish to trade with it - but can't.