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David Cameron is coming back (which is more than we can say for Piers Morgan). The leader of the opposition will be logging on from The Tory party's spring forum in Gateshead this Friday pm, at 3.30. Come along and pose him a question about an issue relevant to you, or if you can't make it on the day, you can post advance questions here. Best, MNHQ
Hi David, please can you comment on maternity benefits. Although some changes from Labour have extended the overall period of paid maternity leave, the 6 week level has not been addressed for a long time. It is impossible for me to pay a mortgage on 108 pounds per week so whether this lower amount applies to 6, 9 or 12 months does not help those of us who cannot get past that 6 week barrier. As the government encourages exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, (rightly, I believe) we need higher maternity benefits for this period. We still fall far short of many other countries, Thank you.
I remember him being fairly shite last time. He probably had a whole team of PR and Legal advisors carefully combing his posts before he actually typed them.
I'd like to ask what he plans to do about nurses pay if he gets into power. Will he be offering us an above inflation rate rather than they below inflation staged offer we got from the current government.
Ruby slippers we can ask them that a 1000 times and they will answer but we will never actually know. Just look at how many things Labour have gone back on and we have no way to make them accountable for it.
fab. won't be able to make it, so here's my question:
What will a Conservative government offer to Mums regarding flexible working? In my experience there are an extraordinary number of mothers who would like to work around school hours but for whom the reality of 'flexible working' practices are that they are anything but. This is, again in my own experience, particularly true for those Mums who worked in mid to higher paying jobs before they had children. A right to request part-time working is not the same as a right to part-time working.
Given that our children need support for reading and homework in the evenings after school, and that in some areas, such as my own, after school homework clubs are not viable due to lack of staff to run them, Mums at my school have no choice but to not work if they are going to be able to support their children adequately. This seems, to me, a huge waste of talent.
I would like to see the Government working with businesses and schools to deliver some joined up thinking in this arena. What say you Mr Cameron?
What do you make of Steve Biddulph's assertion that it would be cheaper, and more in the interests of children, to fund parents to care for under 3s themselves rather than put them in state-subsidised nurseries? Will a Conservative governmen provide support to paretns who want to care for their infant children themselves in the home?
Hey Dave, what music do you like? (I don't actually give a s*, but I seem to remember that was the only question he bothered to answer properly last time.)
I grew up in a northern town, was brought up in a working class household and attended a comprehensive school. The economic boom of the 1980's did not seem to reach us. All I remember was real financial struggles, the miners' strike and a general and heartfelt disillusionment with the Tory government of the day. Why did the Tory party not care about my town? Why were public services so terrible, why did many young people feel they had little future before they left school and why did you choose the join a party that only seemed to care about the rich south?
cissycharlton that is a very fair question but do remember that there are as many people in poverty in the south as there are in the north. Plus where is that big north/south line? It's not Watford Gap thats for sure.
I'd love to know what the conservative proposes to do about nurses pay and conditions? It feels that despite some substantial steps forward under Labour we are now being let down badly. Also how do you feel about the recent pay issues with the police? Did the home secretary behave fairly? (Guess what kind of cliche couple makes up this household?!)
I hesitated about posting the question tbh Devil, because it's a bit of the self-indulgent side but then couldn't pass up this opportunity. What prompted it was my annoyance that whenever there is a 'review' of the 1980's there always seems to be some reference to London-based Yuppies enjoying the high-life. Having said that I know life was tough in the South for some. They should pose their own questions about that too.
Mr. Cameron, I have a question about school entry. You have been quoted as saying that you don't have an issue with parents who lie in order to get their child into a better school. Do you stand by your comments, and if so, how do you propose to make the system fairer for everybody so that parents don't feel a need to resort to such underhand tactics.
On a similar note, do you feel that it is fitting for someone in such a powerful position as yourself to openly admit condoning such dishonesty?
I agree TDWP. We ,live in the South in a town where it is impossible to afford decent housing (either rented or purchased) unless you earn very good money - DP and I have spent the last 4 years living in sub-standard housing because we were unable to afford anything better(ave rent for a 2 bed house somewhere shit is £800+ a month, as for buying, most people under 35 can forget it) We are lucky because we both have good jobs, and it won't be like this forever - but there are many families much worse off than us who will never get out of it What is your take on this situation, Dave? (Can I call you Dave? You can call me Sheiky.)
lalaa, if my experience last time is anything to go by, he will dodge the question of flexible working for fear of alienating business. ok fine. have a webchat with cbi members then .
I emailed David Cameron a few weeks ago to ask him why the joining fee was the same anount for different sectors of society and what help would his party offer to families of gifted children considering they and other special needs children are expensive (books etc). Some woman from his party emailed back and totally avoided answering my question.
I like you David, I may vote for you but I need straight answers, there are alot of children who are unhappy in state schools because they have specific needs that the state can not cater for. What would your party do to support these children? A Comprehensive education is not the best for every child. There are alot of bright children placed in classes where the teachers are too busy doing crowd control then teaching. This is a waste of talent. What will your party do for these children?
Flexible working can only work if a business can accommodate it, surely? There couldn't be a hard and fast rule, could there? I imagine there would have to be so many exceptions as to make it unworkable?
How does it work at the moment? I'm sure an employee has a good case against an employer if they can't show genuine reasons why it won't work. Can an employee currently go to a tribunal with a case of unreasonably refused flexi- working?
Good timing, when most mums will probably be on the school run and sorting after-school activities .
Can I ask whether the Conservatives have any plans to have Citizens Advice Bureaux funded by central government? Virtually every leaflet produced by the government tells people to seek advice from CAB, but the government won't actually provide any funds for individual bureaux, leaving them to go cap-in-hand to their local authority and to scrabble around for various grants in order to provide a decent service.
Given the fact that most government departments cause a huge number of the problems that are presented in bureaux, do you not think the government should contribute towards the service which helps sort them out??
David, If the tories win the election will you treat single parent families with the same respect and understanding that you pledge for families with two parents?
I am a single parent of three, working full time. As i understand, i wouldn't be due the tax break you pledge for a SAHP, why should i not benefit from a higher personal allowance, whilst other people have the privilege of staying home with their child?
shouldn't you concentrate the money at children, rather than families lucky enough to have two parents to share the child rearing, rather than concentrate your efforts on the nuclear family? families won't stay together because you give them a tax break. people who suffer abuse, adultery or disinterest won't stay together because of a little extra cash, and the loss of additional money which should be aimed at children not marriages, will not help n already vulnerable situations.
1. the grammar schools thing. did it turn out that you are for or against them? why?
2. what do you propose to do about the housing crisis for young families (not much social housing, homes cost too much to buy, private rented housing is insecure)?
I would like David Cameron to advise me please. Our area is shockingly bad for secondary schools (Bristol area) - 3rd worst in the country. A new school was built, in order to help this problem - you have to live within 800m to get a place and house prices have soared. I cannot afford private schooling for 3 children. The school we will be offered a place at has 23% of children getting 5 or more GCSEs. My children are very bright, and would be put off school for life at this school. There is no way I could send them there without seriously compromising their education and their lives. What do you suggest I do, David? Thank you!
Far be it from me to leap to the defence of any politician (especially a Tory one ) but we can and feel we should certainly confirm to TheDevilWearsPrimark that there was no team of PR and Legal advisors carefully combing DC's posts before he typed them - as he typed them on Carrie's kitchen table (and they wouldn't have fitted round anyway) right in front of us. And he did make a good attempt to cover a lot of ground in a short time... Oh dear sounds like I'm a blue-rinser (I'M NOT A BLUE-RINSER )
David - could you be truly working parent-friendly and finally commit to making childcare exempt from tax? It would do so much for so many but with all the surestart schemes, tax credits etc, no party seems to have committed to making this simple but powerful promise. As you're also my MP, I'd like to ask what you plan to do to stem the decline of small rural towns - local shops closing etc and 1 supermarket moving in.
Hello David I'm a lifelong Conservative voter, looking at some of these questions I'd say you've got your work cut out!
The only problem I have with the Tories is that they stabbed Maggie in the back, not a popular thing to say around here but I thought she was brilliant, I hope you'll be as forceful a leader, someone you know where you stand with, a true statesman/woman/person (a million questions about the ridiculousness of all that!).
Tortoiseshell - it sounds like a difficult problem - have you considered putting one/two/all three into care? You could write a book about it afterwards and we could applaud you for your bravery?
Dear David - surely anyone would realise that 3.30 to 4.30 pm is school pick up time. Are you and your team of advisers really so far out of touch with the real world that they would suggest this is being a suitable time!
Or perhaps your education policy is so underdeveloped that you are hoping to get away without discussing it, by avoiding all the parents of school aged children.
Tut! Tut! Please try harder next time - oh! that was what we said last time, wasn't it
Dear David, Well done for coming back for a repeat performance! I didn't post last time but here is a question for you.
You are married to a strong intelligent working woman, and so I assume (rightly I hope) that you are not as misogynistic and paternalistic in approach as so many of your colleagues on both sides of the House. What are you going to do to ensure that similarly strong and intelligent hardworking women are properly represented in Parliament, in Cabinet, on the Bench and in Boardrooms? We all know about the terrible numbers of women MPs. But look also at the judiciary. 10 out of 100+ High Court Judges. 3 out of 35+ Appeal Court Judges. 170-odd out of 1200+ Recorders. Yet the number of women entering the law has exceeded the number of men since the late 1980s. This needs to change. What do you suggest?
I'd like to ask David if he personally knows anyone who works (not for him or his family, that is, I'm not counting the people who help care for Ivan) in the public sector and does not live in Notting Hill, Kensington or Chelsea. Does he have any teachers, social workers or nurses in his social circle? Any households where both parents have to work full-time on not huge salaries in order to afford a modest house? And by social circle I don't mean one of his focus groups. I've got nothing against him really but I think he and Mr Osborn have to realise that their lifestyles and how they are presented in the press are massively alienating, offensive even, to a huge swathe of voters. Most politicians are divorced from the reality of modern life IMO but the current Opposition seem even more cut off from the rest of us than most. I don't think they care, actually, but I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I with Marina's lovely put question, also what about equality of pay for all nurses, teachers, social workers , police, fire people who do some of the least liked jobs on behalf of a society that often misunderstands the rational behind what they do
Section 333 of the Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom to ensure that Party Political Broadcasts (including Party Election Broadcasts) and Referendum Campaign Broadcasts are included in the UK regional ITV, Channel 4, Five, Classic FM, talkSPORT and Virgin 1215 services.
Anyone think mumsnet should be included in this list
Great question Marina.Phrased much better than I would have! Agree with it all...except the benefit of the doubt. Be interesting to see if he answers.Though how does anyone know it is him and not a minion answering for him?He will surely be busy washing up for a You Tube video
Are other parties represented here? Are other parties asked to represent themselves here? newbie but DC's face was very visible in January when I started here and I assumed it was a temporary thing - am I to assume this is a true blue lead site?
LOL at Dave having bigger cojones than Piers Morgan. So Cojones Cameron, someone in your cabinet (may even have been you) declared that under a Tory government, Lone Parents would have to work full time when their children were 5 or over. Why? What's wrong with part time work and having enough time and energy to discharge your responsibilities as a parent? Is it because you're intending to dismantle the tax credit system and the making work pay agenda? And does this mean that lone parents would not have the choice other parents have, of home educating their children?
One more question - what do you think needs to be done about the family courts? It's become so clear that the secrecy in which they operate, is incompatible with justice, but that doesn't seem to unduly perturb anyone in Westminster. Why not? Loads of you in the House of Commons are lawyers aren't you? Why aren't a bunch of lawyers interested in justice?
Could I ask Mr Cameron/Dave what his party is going to do about the continued scandal of forced adoptions in England? Given that we are one of only TWO countries that do this in the western world, surely we need to address this discrimination against our vulnerable families & children.
I often wonder why you politician's are so obsessed with offering us 'choice'? Particularly in relation to schools and hospitals. I don't want choice. I want to know that my local school/hospital is as good as the one in the next town.
If you stopped offering me a sodding 'choice' I really would vote for you.
will you cut the excessive road tax on my 4x4's please. it really is a drain on my finances.
also, on a more serious note, what do you plan to do regarding immigration because it really is out of hand now isn't it ? the country is on it's knees, the NHS system cannot cope and the taxpayers are paying more and more out to fund the immigrants with benefits and housing
Can you comment on paternity benefits surely £112 a week is not reaonable at all. I've had 2 children since they came out and both times my partner has had to take 2 weeks of his holiday entitlement as he would lose too much money if he took the paternity leave. Imo it's an empty gesture.
Also I really like you (against my better judgement ) but if you get in are you going to stick by what you say now or just forget it like all the others have done?
Also I really like you (against my better judgement ) but if you get in are you going to stick by what you say now or just forget it like all the others have done?
I am sure that this question, as aways, will be sidestepped completely. However, here goes;
Would a conservative government support grandparents who have their grandchildren living with them on a permanent basis and guarantee that they will make available the same weekly allowance that are currently paid to foster carers?
I am sure you are aware that there are literally thousands of grandparent and kinship carere who do not get a penny toward caring for children that they keep out of the care system thus saving the government a fortune.
In our case, our own children were grown up. We had to sell our home to pay for relevant court costs, both had to give up jobs that were very well paid and had to move over 350 miles away to ensure our grandsons safety from his father. We now live in rented accommodation, on one very low wage, where the rent alone takes around 70% of our income. I am qualified to post-grad level with absolutely no hope of finding a job here and no chance of ever getting back on the property ladder. We have no social life, no spare money whatsoever and it is only going to get worse with the rise in food and fuel costs.
You are quoted as suggesting that 'the first test of any policy is: does it help families?'
Perhaps you could explain in the light of that comment why you voted
against the introductions of two weeks paternity leave against extending maternity leave against family friendly hours in parliament against increasing maternity pay against working tax credits and child tax credits against the right to request flexible working
I fully expect that either
1) You won't answer, because there's no good answer
or
2) You will quite rightly anticipate this to be raised in a webchat on a parenting forum and will have prepared a suitable response, in which case let's hear it.
And for those of us who have given up well-paid and interesting careers (or indeed low-paid and uninteresting careers) in order to raise our own children, will you allow the stay-at-home spouse's tax allowance to be transferred to the working spouse?
^^alternatively, that would adversely affect the children of families where there is only one parent and that parent works. shouldn't you aim any tax breaks at children rather than couples?
what do you propose regarding the CSA/C-MEC. didn't the tories introduce the CSA in the first place? Do you support the reforms or don't they go far enough? how will you make absent parents pay maintenance?
Ooh seems wrong not to come and fire a nappy related question
David,
Before I start, please do not try and quote the "study" back at me about cloth being terrible for the planet. It is not, the study was flawed in more ways than I have time to explain now.
Anyway - willaconservativegvtdoanythingasawholetoencourageuseofclothnappies? Individual councils offer various incentives and it is a postcode lottery (always wanted to use that phrase ) as to how much of an incentive there is to try out cloth. The promise of cash back or a good starter kit is often all that is needed to give parents a nudge to try them, and then they realise that they aren't evil hard to use things and stick with them, helping with landfill, their finances (tight due to the maternity pay questions ) and also a helps lot of independent work at home mums rather than chain stores!
How would transfer of the non-working spouse's tax allowance affect single parents?? The single parent would still be getting their own tax allowance. I'm not suggesting that that should change to accommodate the married couple's tax situation.
I think someone else has already mentioned this but I really think it's important:
Will you consider increasing the current childcare voucher scheme or looking into other ways of making the whole cost of childcare tax-deductible?
While I can see how staying at home is the ideal option for some mothers, others of us that fall above the cut off for tax credits are paying for the full cost of our children's childcare ourselves, and are at the same time contributing to our local economies and local servies (many of us are in the public sector). Staying out of employment for five years would mean that I would never get my job back (I'm a research scientist). Keeping me in employment will mean thousands and thousands more tax dollars to the government over the course of my career. Can the conservatives see this as an investment and allow mothers to chose whether to work by increasing tax relief on childcare?
(Doing this at the same time as allowing SAHMs to transfer personal allowances to their husbands would really be offering a choice and would be fair to all of us).
But I would be interested in David's proposals for carersallowance.
I care for my severely disabled son - I have lost my carer's allowance because I am now a full time research student. It doesn't matter that I do exactly the same number of hours a week caring as before. I leave my office at 3pm to meet my his school bus- (there is no after school care suitable for him in our city -another issue) then make up the time when he is asleep. I still do the 2am wake-ups, and yet it's still been bye bye carer's allowance.
Oh and would you look at giving parents the choice of statutory 'maternity' pay being available to either mothers or fathers that choose to look after the baby. dd could have stayed at home with her Dad for 6 months if this had been allowed. Seems we are penalised because the mother is the main breadwinner, not the father. I am sure this would be seen as fairer and more flexible.
I am considering/leaning towards voting Tory btw (was surprised to see you say that WWW ) but carer's allowance is the sort of thing that might swing me.
Would like to ask how I can reconcile the fact that I am quite drawn to him and many of his policies (against some of my fundemental socialist leanings) but just when I consider how I could for the first time be voting Tory, round comes the local tory councillor and totally reinforces all my long held ideas about what a real Conservative looks like. Judgemental, nimbyist, reactionary and unthinking with no real intellectual strength just small mindedness? So how can he convince me that he really is the true face of the Conservative party??
politicians will do and say anything they have to to get into power. Once in they have trouble with the follow-through ('oh, wait, all that stuff we promised...we can't actually afford to do that...never mind then')
so why should we believe ANYTHING that you say anyway?
what will YOU DO that will improve MY LIFE, even in a small way?
PMSL moopy dh's best man was once a Tory candidate I am going to have to cut and paste that to him.
What are the plans for the tax credits shambles? I have been telling them (by phone and recorded letter) that they have been overpaying me since September. Their response? To deposit 9 thousand pounds in one go into my bank account. I don't want it, it's not mine, they won't tell me how to give it back to them.
What about making employer childcare vouchers compulsory? I get the monthly tax free maximum plus however much more I need to cover my costs (one child in nursery 3 days a week, one child with a childminder before/after school and holidays) with this extra being free of NI, I believe.
BUT my husband's employer does not offer vouchers, so we are missing out on the additional tax relief. It also means that I take the double whammy on my pension of going part time to benefit the family which affects my employer percentage based contributions and also my having all the childcare costs which further reduce the salary that my pension is based on. Just have to hope he doesn't trade me in for a younger/richer model!
Would you plese let me know if you are in agreement with the current system of National Insurance contributions and if not what are your government going to do to rectify it?
This is an inequality that few people know about so tends to get ignored.
For illustration
Myself - NHS clerical worker, salary £16,000 pays 7.4% of salary in Nat Ins
An MP, salary £61,820 pays 5.7% of salary in Nat Ins
You, Leader of the Opposition, salary £132,317 pays 3.2% of salary in Nat Ins
Prime Minister, salary £189,994 pays 2.5 % of salary in Nat Ins.
Thank you for your comments!
Ps Well done on your after budget speech - 'twas very good!!
This question is relevant to me, and I would like to know your responses.
I am a fully qualified childminder with 7 years experience. Currently I am working in a shop!. The reason is that because we moved from Scotland to England - becasue my husband is in the Forces so didn't have a choice - I am having to do all my training again and re-register. It is taking months, hence the reason for me working in a shop. I personally feel that I am being discriminated against by OFSTED and the NCMA becasue I'm A) Scottish and B) A Forces wife
Do you think that a way of "fast tracking" people who have moved, especially for reasons like mine, is workable? I know there are child protection issues, and as a parent I wouldn't want that to stop, but I have a disclosure Scotland check, as does my Hubby. I was up to date in Scotland with all my training including First Aid and Child Protection. yet this apparently counts for nothing. Why? . Surely there could be some way that Care Commission, OFSTED NCMA and SCMA ( and the relevant bodies in Wales and NI as well) could come to some arrangement, to make it easier for me, and others like me to register? I know it's long and rambling but it's starting to really annoy me now!
Hi Dave just pondering here....what are they basic differences, ideologically, practically between you guys and new labour these days?
i dont see any them myself and wonder if that is why we get such low turnouts at elections? lack of real choice?
also, if elected what would your policy be on ID cards, swearing oaths of allegiance for 16 year olds? troops out? Iraq / afghanistan ...what is the idea there? if we want people to feel proud of this country dont force them to recite futile statements at a certain age give them a country they feel they have the chance to learn grow participate and pros
. 
- where did that come from quattro????? Am I missing something? 
