Tory MP schooled by economists over ridiculous line of questioning at Select Committee 

She's thicker than I thought.. Also, accuses Thorsten of giving 'long' answers when she has done most of the talking. Cognitive dissonance.

Should politicians who lie be sacked, yes or no?

Asking an incredibly leading and complex question that requires a careful, nuanced answer, but demanding a "Yes or No" to see who's on her side. My god these people are insufferable

"Or I've got a disability blah blah blah". This statement tells more about who she is than she wanted it to.

She is not asking for opinion; she is asking them to share her opinion.

The one thing that politicians will never do..answer with a 'Yes or no', they expect others to abide by. Absolutely crazy, but typical of current Tory MPs.

Listening to this you would think people exist to serve the economy rather than the other way round.

I've heard Torsten speak many times. Guy has an intelligence level that Leadsom doesn't understand & can only dream of.

A magnificent display of Leadsom's inability to accept that other people may be more intelligent and informed

The first two years are crucial for a child's development it is up to the parents not the government to decide when they go to back to work

Tory MP: “Here is Schrodinger’s Box. Is the cat inside it alive?” Physicist: “Well, it dep…” Tory MP: “Excuse me, I just wanted a yes or no.” 🤦🏼‍♂️

"Open question... yes or no." Literally the definition of a closed question.

She asks a question, and as soon as she catches on that it’s not the answer she’s looking for she replies with some inane ambiguous drivel

Meanwhile over at the Daily Mail “Conservative MP schools leading economists.” This reminds me of the “does the prime minister agree with me” followed by 10 minutes of sucking up in PMQs

"I'm not asking for facts... just give me what I want to hear."

She asks three separate questions, then asks for a single “yes or no”. Truly she has cottage cheese between her ears

Start: Ask a 'yes, no' question, but don't allow anyone to explain, then draw conclusions about what she thinks people think, then try to force her own opinions..Nice..😥😕😬

It’s FUCKING RICH for an MP to demand someone answer ‘yes or no’

Wow, what I’m hearing from Leadsom is “ please tell me that sending parents to work when their children are 9 months old by providing subsidised childcare for all children at that age it will make the children better workers at 18.” So no idea that working class people might want an education, or better jobs than their parents. Also talk about de humanisation

The kicker is at the end, when we're reminded that she is a Dame.

One can see all the eyes in the room looking at her thinking " WTF is she on about?!"

For someone who wants short answers she sure asks some long questions

I am speechless I hope Andrea Leadsom,constituents are all watching this

She is a great example of someone who has the impression that she is clever and well versed in everything without actually being either.

This Karen of a Tory is a great example of someone trying to get sound bites, instead of answers.

"i cant work, im over 50, ive got a disability blah blah blah" well this is gonna be a nuanced discussion on the ethics the social policy

Good Lord...This has to be the most blatant example of working backwards from a conclusion that i've ever seen in my life. "Try to answer in as few words as you can because i have an awful lot more that i'd like to say."

Five minutes in and I’m stunned by how tightly Leadsom is trying to control this discussion. She really doesn’t want to hear any true opinions.

Her questions are longer than the answers she allows.

Dunning-Kruger in full flight. Reminds me of the Republican senators currently in the news at the moment. She complains about the experts giving long answers then asks an epic, meandering question interrupting the experts as soon as they try to answer.

Bring the children into the meeting and ask them if they would rather their Mammy, Daddy or both parents were out working all day while they were looked after by a relative or a stranger. It is obviously better for most children to have the love of their parents, in their early years and indeed, it is also quite a positive experience for many parents to be close to their children in the early years. This is not a Yes or No problem. There are many variables. Create opportunities to stay at home or go to work and incentivise whichever are most beneficial to the children, parents, society and the economy at large.

My granddaugther is 3rd generation in the Danish "Day Care PARENT" system. The Council guarantee day (after a fashion) and to get flexibility, it employs (mostly)women, who live in nice spacious houses with gardens to care for four kids (9m-3y) The Council ensures the facilities are up to scratch, supplies various equipment, educates the carer, give them a net work of collegues - and pay decent wages. Day care homes come about like this: The typical carer is just back from parental leave, but don't relly want to go back... So instead set up a day care at home. The Council will not only equip your kid's playroom - they'll pay you to look after your own child. Who again will get 3 playmates visiting every day. The child is not in some weird institution, but at home - it's just somebody else's. The child meets the same 1 or 2 grown ups, and the same 3 friends every day. They all get to know each other very, very well. For the parent handing in the kids in the morning isn't much different from dropping them off at Granny's or an aunt. When you pick up, you'll often have a cup of coffee, meet one of the other parent and have a chat at the kitchen table. Danish hygge! Take care - especially of the future 😉 - and feel free to ask questions 🙂

This is a vile mentality from a highly paid woman in a sedentary occupation, to hell with these people.

She once actually lectured Pascal Lamy, who for many years was the Director General of the WTO. on how she understood how international trade worked, contrary to his understanding of it.

Asks a 5 minute, unbelievably specific question in order to get the answer she wants, 10 seconds later, “here’s what’s wrong with your question”

This is the perfect example of why these people have sat too long in Westminster for the good that they do

Open question...yes or no!?...no wonder our school children are confused.

Who is taking care of the child at 9 months old?! A child carer, aka not the mother or father? And her first question is, "is it good for the ECONOMOY", instead of "is this good for the child's upbringing, health, and safety"?!

It’s not hard to do this as Torries are so stupid , but nice to see experts ripping them a new one 👏

so she wants parents back to work and to drop their baby on grand parents to care for ( for a modest payment ) - aren't those the same grand parents they also want to go back to work?

So puerile, "Here's a complex and nuanced question, now give me a yes or no answer and I'll misrepresent you if you don't"

It's a shame that she isn't home looking after grandchildren. Like deployed 👍

I want to ask an open question then proceeds to ask a closed question wanting a yes/no answer

How did she get a seat on this committee 😅

I'm going to ask an open question but require only a yes or no answer. Someone stop this woman.

"I'd like to ask an open question. And could I ask you to limit your answers to yes or no." Jesus wept.

As an accountant of 25 years, this was really hard to listen to. A clear example of a dishonest, partisan politician looking to grandstand of "ask" 2min long "questions" stating her ideology, then demanding confirmation from experts and claiming, they give "long answers", when they try to use 2 sentences to qualify, how its not a yes or no reality, is so loathsome. I see, where she got her nickname. Basically, she has the result, she wants, doesnt care about the facts, and just want to force answers, she can dishonestly use to claim, that her required result is backed by experts. Truly the epitome of everything wrong with far too many politicians.

“Being in a job gets you out of the house” sure but there also should be reward for working and not the pittance that is our minimum wage

She’s trying hard to trap them but too stupid to succeed. Let’s ask “open” questions then ask for a yes or no response.

0:08 - 'I'd like to ask you an open question, not looking for a particular answer'...0:25 'could I just ask you to say yes or no'. Andrea the genius strikes again

This is so difficult to watch what a manipulative MP.

"I'm asking you questions and I want you to have an opinion. But if that opinion doesn't match what I want you to say then I'll keep interrupting you until you agree with me" has she taken lessons from the CCP

Clearly an act of desperation as she knew letting these people talk for more than 3 seconds would lead to her being humiliated.

first thing she says "here's an open question, not looking for a particular answer... but I'd really like just a yes or no. "

If this childcare package had started April 1st 23 my household will have saved 25k over two years for childcare. My partner was forced back into work because cost of living and childcare cost has nullified those gains. From leadsom perspective they have to sell this package to their base which means some sort of “productivity” outcome over a human aspect. No one else cares about your kids and they don’t wanna pay for it, sad but this is Britain. £5bn isn’t a lot of money for what the economy would get back. My household would be £25k better off which would gives us more spending power. Truth is this government has no actual plan to deliver on this package, it’s a campaign pledge. There’s an election between now and this policy being rolled out and if the Tory’s win they won’t deliver it. How can you announce something in this years budget that doesn’t come into play until 2025. It’s a trap

What a devious woman. Non of these questions are black and white. She sounds like a bbc interviewer asking inappropriate yes or no questions that don't exist in reality

Her: "Accuses someone for giving answers that are too long Also her: *Speaks for 75% of the Video as the interviewer* o.0

not much discussion about how good or bad it might be for the 9 month old baby with both parents being absent for most of its waking life

Who does Andrea Leadsom expect to look after a 9 month old baby when both parents go back into work? Not everyone can afford to pay for a babysitter nor do all parents have friends and family that they can rely on. Its almost as if she expects parents to neglect their baby and go back into work which of course is against the law.

She is beyond belief, shocking. Such complex situations and talking about human beings and children.

I would ask "why should we answer yes or no when your colleagues don't?" (MP's)

I always remember her after Grenfell. She was getting interviewed on tv and people who lived in Grenfell were asking her questions and she didn’t want to know. You could see she didn’t want to be there. Typical Tory.

Does she understand the difference between an open and closed question?

"I'll ask a question that has a great deal of nuance across the population, but I want a yes or no answer that applies to everyone". "Am I asking the right people? or should I disregard everything you say given I've already made my mind up". Edit: Can I just point out that "having a job" may get you out of the house, but it puts you in another restrictive environment. Some jobs may be more social than others, but they're still work and any social aspect is secondary (and usually frowned upon by virtue of work needing to be done). Work is not a community. Most jobs don't inspire a sense of belonging (they inspire a sense of "you're replacable"). Most jobs these days put too much on the worker, who may then be made to feel poorly about themselves due to the demands of that job. Employer culture could shift a bit to change this, but it seems the Tories would rather shift the social culture to ingrain it further. We need communities, where people have the will to be who they are, among others, with little pressure. Work does not do that. Work has a place in life, but it is not the be all and end all of a human life.

I heard her the other day saying how great it is to be able to live and work abroad for a few years 👍 does she understand freedom of movement 😂

There are those who chose to have only 1 child, and give that one a good start in life, being with a parent for 3 yrs, and then perhaps nursery or Montessori. This is about money but not the social family aspect

"Can you please give me the answer I'm corralling you to give?" Insidious questioning from the newly pro-EU Leadsome.

I would have walked out as soon as 'yes or no' was demanded the second time.

*I LIVE IN BULGARIA NOW* here they get 2 years' parental leave if they have a kid and NO ONE puts their kid in child storage with strangers - it is a KNOWN psychological and developmental problem that creates a f-ked up society. The extended family of the community looks after the child if the mother has to work, but most mothers don't work. We have the lowest level of mental health problems in the EU. Children are NOT an impediment to work - they are TOMORROWS SOCIETY...!!!

"I'VE GOT A DISABILITY BLAH, BLAH, BLAH" WTF!!

This whole line of questioning is utterly moronic. Reducing complex issues to yes or no is typically stupid of Leadsome. And asking people completely unqualified to answer questions about the welfare of children is farcical. Welcome to dumbed down Britain.

Notice the lack of anyone present prepared to ask the parent or parents what they want to do. The kind of bubble shielded from the outside world.

If a government forces mothers to go back to work after nine months, can they guarantee that they, and their client media, are not going to demonise those working mothers, for not being at home? Answer yes or no.

she needs to ask someone who knows about the health and psychology of children, not economists

She sure lives up to her name when, although she didn't just lead some of the questions but ALL of them.

As if A.L genuinely has the smallest concern about her state pension entitlement 😂

In Germany the parents are allowed to stay home til the child is 2 years old as they find it important for child bonding. The German Economy still is strong even if the children are home til 2 years old.

In Germany, her colleagues would jump in and scold her for the ridiculous line of questioning. But there's not backlash at all in this country for politicians like this. They can just roam free.

It's idiotic to expect simple answers of very nuanced and complicated issues. Unfortunately the policymakers aren't selected on their ability to deal with complicated matters.

Getting people out of the house is important and we should make every effort to make sure they need to work 3 jobs so that when they get in they are too tired to look after their kids. When those kids begin to truant we will punish the parents. When the kids want to go and enjoy themselves we will make sure there is nowhere for them to go apart from places their exhausted parents cant afford and punish them when they get into trouble through boredom.

Wow; those questions and comments from Andrea were incoherent

"Let me just ask an open question, and there isn't a right or wrong answer... YES OR NO??!!?! AND YOU BETTER SAY YES BECAUSE I'M TELLING YOU THE ANSWER IS YES!"

"none of you are answering the way I want you to!" 😡

The discussion appears to be about those who can afford options, not those in a minimum wage poverty trap. Does any parent want to hand over their 9month old to a stranger so they can go and do drudgery that still requires benefits to pay the bills ? The only consideration here seems to be to make money for an economy that most don't profit from whilst not allowing parents to raise their own children.

Considering that she was the only one that did all of the talking during this so-called 'Treasury Select Committee' and the other six members of it didn't ask any questions of the four people in front of them maybe those same four experts should have asked each of the members other than Andrea Leadsom what they did for a living, shouldn't they? I'm sure that any parent who wanted to return to work 9 months after having a child wouldn't object to having jobs like theirs, i.e. where they just sat around and did sweet F.A. and got paid obscene amounts of money for doing so, would they?

Still the main point she got is exceptionally important - at nine months, most children don't even speak yet, and in countries with longer parental leave making a human in that age part with their caretaker is seen as cruel. I would have asked if they have children and if they have seen a child crying to try and get their mother back to them - when this child is nine months old. Masking cruelty behind the words of "changing a social norm" while having no clue is worse than being not that smart on economy or much too pushy in dialogue. Essentially telling women that they should be smarter and keep their full-time jobs versus caring about the pain of their children, let alone perspectives of their children, and then plainly admitting having no clue but still having an opinion - well that would be a very definition of ignorance.

If I was sitting there as an expert, I would have stood up and said: 'I am far too grown up for this'

The Tories are not about helping anyone unless it's helping themselves. The 'helping' terminology often hides financial pressures they impose. It might be good for the economy for parents to go back to work when a child is 9 months old, but is it good for the child and society at large? What are the impacts on the child? All the Tories think about is money-making.

Dear God! I truly struggle to understand how some people became an MP.

The chair asked closed leading questions. She's awful.

Oh the cynical irony of a politician asking for a yes or no answer.

How about what's it like for the child or the parents of said child?😮 Oh this gov is shocking

Millionaire Andrea Leadsom dictating how people live.

What’s best for the child? What’s best for the parent? There’s a massive guilt trip on parents whatever they do in the scenario of going back to work or not when children are little. I had to stop watching this, it made me so angry. God, I hate the Tories even more after the first 2 minutes of this line of questioning.

By the way. When did being a full time parent (historically the mother) draw such negative connotations. Like it’s one hard job and it’s so beneficial to society to not only have children routinely but that they are also raised lovingly and responsibly

It's hard to understand how anyone can answer a question as complex as whether people should work if they are able with a yes/no answer. And on what planet are economists equipped to opine on the advisability of mothers returning to work their children are under a year.

Talking about her constituents.. " I'm disabled bla bla bla".. is quite telling in how she thinks about the most vulnerable.. Just wonder how many yes or no answers she's given to important questions

This is a moribund line of questioning from a political lightweight.

The answer is simple to her rediculas line of questioning, is it affordable for a parent to go back to work? The cost of childcare is so high that ordinary people can not afford it. I am a grandmother and still work. It is better to offer quality of care and sometimes offering better support to new mothers and not having this guilt trip policy put on them. Pay people better and make childcare affordable.

I remember when one wage could support a family. We are destroying the family unit. This was an interesting debate.