16-year-old schoolgirl, Lexie Hill silences TV pundits. Shreds 'In' campaigners' arguments ...launched fierce attack on arguments for open European borders. Labor Party's Diane Abbott slams 'myths' in negative immigration arguments, but 'top politicians' refuse to engage with claims made by schoolgirl
Lexie Hill left Environment Secretary Liz Truss and Labor's Diane Abbott speechless with a powerful outburst on the current affairs program.
Miss Hill, who is set to take her GCSEs this year, stopped the politicians in their tracks with a fierce attack on open European borders.
Miss Hill, from Poole, Dorset, recently finished her mock GCSE exams at Parkstone Grammar School and wants to study Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Economics at A-level.
Schoolgirl Lexie Hill, 16, left Environment Secretary Liz Truss and Labor's Diane Abbott speechless with a powerful outburst on the current affairs program
The
impassioned intervention came after Ms Truss, who has backed Prime
Minister David Cameron's recommendation Britain should stay in the EU,
outlined the case defending the EU deal negotiated last week in
Brussels.
Miss
Hill responded: 'I'm sorry but I can't accept Liz's argument that
they're trying to reduce the pull factors because what is increasing the
living wage to £9 in 2020 going to do?
'Eastern
Europeans who have a minimum wage which is already one tenth of what
ours is, surely that's going to increase net migration?'
Teenager Lexie Hill, 16, in the audience of last night's BBC Question Time in Poole silenced the pro-EU politicians on the panel with a passionate case to leave the EU and institute tougher border controls
She said the new national living wage was 10 times higher than the equivalent in eastern Europe.
And she endorsed the 'Australian style points system' for immigration that has long been promoted by Ukip.
Presenter David Dimbleby intervened to ask what her solution would be and how she would be voting at the referendum on June 23.
Miss Hill replied: 'I would get out of the EU so we could have a fair points-based system so we don't favour people from the EU over people (outside) of the EU.
Miss Hill said the Government's new EU deal would do nothing to address the 'pull factors' encouraging low paid migrants to move to Britain - highlighting the new £9 minimum wage being rolled out
Environment Secretary Liz Truss, pictured on the show, prompted the intervention with a defence of David Cameron's Brussels negotiations
In an effort to reply Ms Abbott, the shadow international development secretary, insisted the immigration debate was 'riddled with myths' about people who come to Britain to 'sit and live on benefits'
'We can have someone unskilled within Europe coming in without any questions, but a really talented doctor from India has to go through an intensive process.
'It doesn't make sense.'
The young woman's speech was met with an enthusiastic round of applause from audience members, who turned around to discover who had been talking.
Miss Hill's father Robert Hill, a computer programmer, told The Telegraph that she is considering a career in politics in the long term but first wants to take on a 'normal' path like medicine or finance.
He said: 'We are very proud of her, she's always had very strong views on politics.
'A lot of her views are similar to mine but she's quite happy to stick up for herself and air her point of view. She likes Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson because they have similar views to her.
'She has got a strong interest in politics but initially she's thinking about more of a normal career - she's thinking about medicine and finance, with the possibility of going into politics later.
The audience member was dismissed by Labour's Diane Abbott who insisted the immigration debate was 'riddled with myths'
Ms Abbot said: 'My parents were immigrants so the audience will forgive me when I say that I worry about a narrative on immigration that only stresses the negative'
BBC Question Time host David Dimbleby intervened to ask how the young woman would be voting in the referendum on June 23
'She watches Question Time every week and is currently reading Andrew Marr's book about politics. She's not a member of a political party.'
In an effort to reply Ms Abbott, the shadow international development secretary, insisted the immigration debate was 'riddled with myths' about people who come to Britain to 'sit and live on benefits'.
She said: 'My parents were immigrants so the audience will forgive me when I say that I worry about a narrative on immigration that only stresses the negative.'
Also on last night's panel were columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer, Giles Fraser from the Guardian and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.
To be a part of the Question Time audience, applicants must be 16 or over.
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