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Visit by the Brexit Select Committee

31/01/2017

Article by MA Contemporary Media student, Ryan Hillback

Politicians are often accused of living in the “Westminster bubble”, but the Brexit Committee attempted to dispel this stereotype as they visited the University of Wolverhampton.

Chaired by the former Shadow Defence Secretary Hilary Benn, the committee includes local MPs Emma Reynolds, Pat McFadden, SNP member Peter Grant and former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale.The  MPs engaged with students on the process of Britain’s exit from the European Union, and many in attendance were delighted with the discussion.

Students’ Union officer Habiba Amjad said: “It is important that students are given the opportunity to express their views on a life-changing subject. We’ve had many students approach us asking for information about Brexit and what this means for their futures. I thought the politicians in attendance answered many of our questions.”

First year Computer Science student Aaron Green echoed this view: “I think it was good that these politicians came to the University of Wolverhampton, instead of just being confined to Oxford, Cambridge, and London. I thought it was a positive meeting.”

But not everybody in attendance, thought it was a productive session. Mark Anderson believed the panel were “biased” on the issue of Brexit.

He said: “I do not believe that the panel were representative of the views expressed by the British people. (The rhetoric) was all doom and gloom, focussing on the negative aspects of Brexit, without exploring the positive aspects of it. I thought it was a biased discussion, particularly as more people in Wolverhampton voted for Brexit rather than remain.”

Hilary Benn spoke to the local press about the need for clarity on the terms of Brexit. He also stated that the debate was no longer between “Brexiteers and Remainers” but about how the Government deals with the triggering of Article 50 – the formal process of leaving the single block.

The committee continued their tour of the country with a visit to a tile factory in Stoke.

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