Commonwealth Countries and Overseas Territories: European Union Debate
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Lord Wallace of Saltaire
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Commonwealth Countries and Overseas Territories: European Union
Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts(8 years, 6 months ago)
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The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston) (Con)
My Lords, we have yet to hear from the Liberal Democrat Benches and there are other minor parties also trying to intervene. I suggest that we start with the Lib Dem Front Bench and see where we get to after that.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
My Lords, do the Government recognise that if we were to restrict access to the other 450 million people in the European Union and open access to immigration for the 2.3 billion people in the Commonwealth—with the rapidly increasing population in west Africa and south Asia—immigration to this country would be likely to increase, rather than decrease?
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
My Lords, if the UK were to vote to leave the European Union that should not have a direct impact on the way in which applications from other countries outside the EU would be taken into account. Our current controls would continue to apply.