Labour leadership hustings - Webchat with Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall, Tuesday 28 July 2015 at 12pm

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

Following on from Friday's webchat with Yvette Cooper, we’re pleased to announced the second of our Labour leadership hustings webchats with Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall, tomorrow at 12 noon.

Jeremy Corbyn has been an MP for North Islington since 1983. In addition to his involvement with local organisations and community groups, he has a keen interest in international affairs and is the chair of the Stop the War coalition, which he helped establish in 2001. Jeremy’s candidacy for the Labour leadership has triggered a flurry of headlines and soundbites.

Liz Kendall was elected as Labour MP for Leicester West in 2010. She is the Shadow Minister for Care and Older People. Her focuses include improving public services and making society fairer, and she has previously been the Director of the Ambulance Service Network and of the Maternity Alliance charity. Liz has recently spoken out against sexism in politics, following a row about remarks made by a supporter of Andy Burnham’s candidacy.

Please join us for the webchat at 12pm tomorrow if you can, or post a question for Jeremy and Liz here in advance if you can’t.

Labour leadership voting is open until Thursday 10 September and the ballot results will be released on Saturday 12 September.

Thanks

MNHQ

Ooh

Hello Jeremy. Do you think it's true that the average swing voter would be turned off Labour if you were leader?

Hello Liz. Apparently you support workers' representation on executive pay committees which I think is an interesting idea. Are you in favour of a more wholesale approach to workers' representation at the top level of businesses, on the German model (co-determination) - or is it only about pay?

Jeremy, you have my vote and I wish you all the best and thank you for standing up for what you (and many many others) believe in. It is high time that Labour realised what an alternative to a Tory government looks like.
Could you please clear up your position on your feelings towards Sheikh Raed Salah? It has been mentioned a few times on Mumsnet.

Liz Kendall, when Jeremy hopefully wins the election, will you stand by and support him?

Hello both. Could you both please give us, in one sentence, ONE big idea? Something that could make people want to sign up and vote for you? Something that makes you stand out?

Jeremy, I hope you win.

As Labour leader, what would you expect your relationship to be with the SNP?

Also, how far do you expect the present government to go in its plans to "reform" the BBC?

Hi Jeremy
Thank you for standing and you have my vote. If you win how do you propose to choose your shadow cabinet and enhance the profile of women in the party?
Hi Liz
Will you work for the good of the labour party if it means serving under a leader whose politics you fundamentally disagree with? If not, how do you view your political future?

Question for you both: it seems, from up here in Scotland at least, that the party has abandoned its socialist roots. The perception here is that you seem to be more interest in scoring
points off other parties and playing political games than actually representing the people. What do you plan to do about this?

Hello Jeremy. If you win the leadership election and go on to become PM in 2020, would you consider holding a referendum over the future of the monarchy?

You have my vote anyway, good luck.

Hi Jeremy and Liz

What is your approach to the arts? Would you support the arts as labour leader / prime minister? If so, how?

I will ask the same question I asked Yvette if I may...

I am appalled by religious discrimination in the state funded education sector. Why should a child be turned down for a place at their local state funded school where all their nursery friends are going due purely to the religion of their parents?

In this climate of fear of extremism, shouldn't we be encouraging religious integration in education rather than segregation?

To put it in a nutshell, what is the point of the Equalities act 2010 if state funded education is exempt from it?

Hi, Can you both tell me where to find your Disability Policy please?
If you don't have one, will you be asking Disabled people to co-create one with you, one which will be actually implemented?

Jeremy - I have been struggling between heart (a decent socialist anti austerity leader) and head (media friendly more likely to get elected given our corrupt media) over the vote - but reading you once 'scuffled' with the 'lovely' Robert Kilroy Silk tipped the balance well and truly in your favour

did you really scuffle with him - and what about ?

seriously though - thanks for standing and giving me a reason to be passionate about my party again

Hi Jeremy - If the EU referendum was held tomorrow, how would you vote?

Hi Liz - can you set out a Labour case for and approach to welfare reform which makes it distinctly, as opposed to incrementally, different to the Conservative approach?

I want to know what Labour will do to help the disabled and their full time carers (who ''earn'' a pittance on carers allowance yet look after disabled 24/7).

For starters taking off the spare room tax for disabled as ''spare'' room is for medical equipment and the like.

And disabled and carers have high living costs as most are NOT helped by the so called services out there.

By all means sort out the wheat from the chaff regarding benefit scroungers from the genuine too.

Hi, a question for both: Would you consider the implementation of a Land Value tax? If not are there alternative ways of taxing wealth fairly that you would consider bringing in?

I think the same question which came up on the other talk: what do you think should/can be done to improve the quality and availability of mental health services, especially for children and young people?

Hi 'contenders' ... I am not one of the faithful, so please feel free to ignore me - everyone else does.

I am very concerned that so matter how high our National Debt gets, as our annual budget deficits/overspends accumulate, every socialist party appears to call the current cutting of £1,600,000,000,000 (£1.6 trillion) austerity.

I get the feeling that socialist parties think that by accelerating public spending rather than easing back on the throttle will somehow not only pay back the (current) £1.6 trillion debts, but the interest on old and new debt as well - so it would have to be very good new investments with huge guaranteed financial returns - as social ones won't pay it down as interest rates are set to rise from 300 year lows.

Do either of you focus/care at all about our national debts and understand the enormity of the task ahead starting to pay it down that can only really come from a combination of Spending Cuts/Tax Rises as with inflation at ZERO% we cannot rely on or attempt to inflate away our debts?

Thank you for taking the time ignoring me.

Signed
Norma-no-mates.

Hi Jeremy and Liz

I am interested in your thoughts on support for parents returning to work after maternity leave. I am grateful of any support received to help with childcare fees, at the moment the only help you get is the 15 free hours once your child turns three. Why is it that this funding only starts at age three, and not at 9 months when statutory maternity pay runs out and the majority of parents have to return to work? Would you support helping working parents any earlier than age 3? Thank you and good luck with your campaigns!

Q for Jeremy

I've heard many Labour supporters say they must put electoral success before political ideology. This makes my blood boil. How do you feel when you hear this nonsense?

I think Labour needs a leader who believes in something, preferably something socialist. I think you are the ideal. Politics is ready for a beard.

Good luck.

Q for Liz Kendall. Do you have an opinion on anything that is even vaguely left-wing. G'wan, you must be able to think of something.

Hi Jeremy and Liz,

As a fairly long term stay home mum (husband works shifts/away and worked better for us me being home), I felt vilified by both New Labour & Coalition/Tory for my/our choice. Apparently we were 'a real problem' to New Labour, us stay home mums. What do you think of stay home mums/dads? Should each family make their own choice or should the government force a view of the only acceptable type of family? (Dual f/t working it seems for the previous governments). Thank you!

Jeremy

Will you do the decent thing and stand down now.

Should any Labour peers and MPs guilty of sexually abusing children continue to govern the country; if not, what are you personally going to do about it?

Can you please give us assurances that you will reform the system, that allows non residential parents financially abuse their child and the state by child support and tax evasion.

Jeremy you have my vote.

I would like Stella or Caroline as a deputy.

I hope there will be more disabled and female MP'S represented in future.