Webchat with Anna Soubry on Brexit and beyond - Tuesday 22 January at 10.30am

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Anna Soubry MP to discuss all things Brexit. Anna was a Remain campaigner and currently supports calls for a second referendum. Anna made headlines a couple of weeks ago when she was harassed outside Parliament and urged the police to take more action.

Anna has been the Conservative MP for Broxtowe since the 2010 General Election. After more than a year attending Cabinet as Minister of State for Small Business, Anna chose to return to the backbenches in July 2016, be able to represent her views on the “positive benefits of immigration and the EU.”

Please do join the chat on Tuesday at 10.30am, or if you can’t make it, leave a question here in advance.

We’re expecting this to be a busy webchat, so only existing Mumsnet users are able to post on this thread.

As always, please remember our webchat guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered and please keep it civil. Also 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 the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

And finally - we did have a pro-Brexit webchat guest lined up for this week (Jacob Rees Mogg) but they cancelled on us so we’re trying to line up a replacement as we speak.

Many thanks.

The official portrait of Anna Soubry is used under an Attribution 3.0 Unported licence - image may be cropped for purpose.

I've aleady asked one question, but if there's time for another:

How long do you think it will take for the divisions caused by Brexit to heal, and how can this be facilitated?

Hi Anna, many thanks for taking part in this chat.
It seems to me that brexit has exposed not only bitter divisions within the country but also the limitations of the current electoral system. Both your party and the opposition seem plagued by internal divisions, fueling a sense of paralysis. I realise this would represent quite a radical break from the past but in order to move forwards once more would it not be better for both to split accordingly? What are your thoughts on a switch to proportional representation?

Hi

I’ve tried explaining No Deal and WTO terms to someone in real life. But it’s so darned complicated their eyes glaze over pretty quickly (possibly my fault).

It there any short succinct way to explain No Deal to people. It sounds easy peasy and most people are surprised I’m worried about it.

You are the elected representative of a constuency which voted by more than the average to leave the EU . Why do you think you know better than the people who voted?

Thank you for your integrity in standing up for what's right and putting country before party. I truly admire and appreciate what you are doing.

My question is about messaging and branding which is so important - why not call it "A Vote on the Final Deal" rather than a people's vote (we've already had one of those) or a second rederendum (as it isn't the same as the first). And keep reminding people that even brexiteers like JRM suggested a referendum on the final deal would make sense. www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/16/billboard-campaign-reminds-voters-of-mps-brexit-promises

My follow up question is how can ordinary people help you get the message across?

I Voted leave and would be happiest without any deal on leaving or at least a deal that dosent cost us billions and billions and leave us still having to abide by a million EEC rules and ways without a say ourselves we voted to leave and not a half hearted deal that leaves us worse than been in it.
I would like to see the majority vote been Implemented. As did the majority in your own constituency so it seems bad you are not representing the people that voted you in as you went along with the conservative manifesto to get voted in and it was clearly a manifesto to leave.
So I’d like to know when you are going to resign since you are not representing the majority vote In your area which was how you were voted in in the last general election since you stood to support the Conservative party manifesto but clearly lied to get your seat.

Anna. Thank you for having integrity and standing up to the pressure of the Brexiteers. You are one of my heroes.

Please can you explain why you are not backing Labour’s amendment which includes the option of a people’s vote? We really need politicians to put the interests of the country before party loyalty.

Hi Anna, thank you for putting country before party, putting the needs of the country before the misled wishes of your constituents. Thank you for standing up for what is best for the country rather than a misinformed and illegally campaigned for referendum result.
My question is what would you want a referendum question to be? I can’t see anything being acceptable other than the WA+PD v remain as no-deal would bring economic chaos and break the GFA and there is no other deal on offer from the EU27.

Hi Anna, much of what I’d like to ask has already been asked. To expand on a previous question: shortly after the referendum I went to a couple of talks (actually book promotions); both writers said there was an urgent need for a new, centrist party which would be made up of the more moderate and liberal thinkers on either side. This made total sense, and although people occasionally pop up (eg Tony Blair) calling for this, it seems never to have managed to evolve.
Do you think that in spite of the economic and civil catastrophe that is facing us there remains in our politicians an inability to let go of their own party? And is that inability based on fear of loss of power? Or fear of the unknown? Or something else altogether?

Hello Anna, I'm a past Labour voter who Brexit has put in the interesting position of supporting a number of Conservative politicians, including you and Dominic Grieve. I can no longer vote in the U.K. due to the 15 year rule and will be completely disenfranchised by Brexit.

My question: in the event of another referendum, would you support the right of Britons in Europe to vote on an issue that has such a significant impact on them and their families?

Hi Anna. Do you think Arron Banks and/or Nigel Farage and Dominic Cummings and/or should go to jail for orchestrating a campaign based on lies, illegal data usage, breaking funding laws etc.

Bonus: why do you think so many people seem impressed by sporadic Latin and "big words" used by BJ and JRM when the content of their statements rarely tally with fact?

I'm a centre-right who can't bring herself to vote Tory because of the xenophobia and Brexit, btw. Thanks for your hard work and resilience, much appreciated

No Deal will mean we break the Good Friday Agreement. Do you agree therefore that No Deal must be taken off the table and that it cannot be offered as an option in a People’s Vote?

(blatent 2nd Q): Citizen's Assembly, People's vote, general election or magicking up a reasonable alternative, they all require extension to A50 period.

If A50 period gets extended, what do we do about MEP elections due in May 2019??

Following on from Misti’s point: would you support the referendum be broadened to include the broader demographics of Scotland’s Indyref - so 16+, British ex-pats in the EU and EU citizens here?

Hello Anna,

Thank you for joining us here on Mumsnet.
Similarly to Misti I am also ex-Labour remainer, now without a party political home. Thank you for standing up for your principles.

Do you think there will ever be cross-party co-operation to dig ourselves out of this Brexit hole? Also would you offer support to Yvette Cooper's attempt to extend the Article 50 deadline? If not, why not?

My other question Anna is - do you think the HoC truly has the balls to truly No Deal off the table for good - ie legally not just nominally - with a Revoke if it came to it?

to truly No Deal off the table for good

Typo - to get No Deal odd the table for good.

Hello Anna
You are probably aware there is a national shortage of Epi Pens (and this is before Brexit), how will the govt handle this crisis after Brexit when inevitably it will be harder for medication to be distributed?
The crisis isn't being handled now so people will die if plans are not put into place quickly

Do you think you are likely to lose your seat in future as a result of your Remain stance in a Leave voting constituency? I applaud you for having the guts to stand up for this.

No question, but a heartfelt thank you from me too for standing up for what is right and best for our country. It can't be easy putting your head above the parapet in this way but there are lots and lots of people out here who appreciate it very much.

From Gransnet...

Crystaltipps Do you agree that women MPs suffer more abuse of all kinds than male ones? If so, do you think there are any solutions?

And one more from Gransnet

GrandmaKT Do you worry that if we had a second referendum the majority would still be for leave? According to threads on this website, hardly anyone who voted leave in the original referendum would change to remain, and some who originally voted remain would change to leave because of the perceived threat to democracy.

If we had a second referendum with a different result, would you agree that it would be only fair to have a third?

As it's MN someone really should ask the biscuit question.

So Anna, exactly which biscuit would you most like to tell Nigel Farage to shove where the sun don't shine?

I think a wagon wheel, but the old size ones.

Or maybe a twix lengthways.