Live webchat with Ed Miliband, Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition, Thursday 1st Dec at 1.45pm

[KatieMumsnet]

We're very pleased to announce that Labour leader, Ed Miliband will be joining us for a webchat this Thursday between 1.45pm and 2.45pm.

Ed is MP for Doncaster, former Minister for Energy and Climate change and won the Labour leadership in the autumn of 2010. He's keen to hear your views and answer any of your questions.

Do join us for the webchat. As ever, if you can't make it, please post up your advance questions here.

Thanks,

MNHQ

[BIWI]

I would like to know more about Blue Labour, and Ed's views on it. How does it reflect his view of the Labour party and what it should stand for in the future.

[milk]

Chanukah doughnut- Jam or no jam? :)

[twofingerstoGideon]

I would like to know when the Labour Party is going to start providing proper opposition to the coalition. Is this really the time to be sitting on the fence on issues like public sector pensions?

[Glitterknickaz]

I would like to ask why despite requests there hasn't been representation for people with disabilities who are going to be
hit hardest by the Welfare Reform Bill. This applies to working age people and children. Is he aware of the impact the cuts to Universal Credit is going to have on my family as despite needing constant supervision two of my three disabled children don't qualify for the highest rate of DLA so we'll lose £200 a month.

Carers save this country £18 billion a year and what little we have to live on is being further eroded when the cost of everything is rising. Will you help us?

[ShirleyKnot]

I would like to ask Ed why the slashing, cutting and burning currently being pushed through by the Government isn't being more robustly challenged by Labour?

Also, why they have failed to support the public sector workers in their justified strike action?

Most labour supporters (of which I am one) feel utterly let down TBH.

[Iggly]

I'd like Ed to remind the PM every now and then of the human stories behind those affected by the cuts and stick up for the little people.

[BoffinMum]

Hello Ed,

Tory education policy seems very chaotic to me - giving with one hand and taking away with the other, blaming parents for all sorts of ills, falling out with teachers and lecturers all over again. I sometimes think I have fallen asleep and woken up in the mid-1980s!

What's your general impression of all of the recent changes in education, and what would you do differently if you were in power?

BoffinMum

[BoffinMum]

PS Do you think you might be able to come in to speak to my Education undergraduates about your personal view of education policy? The university's Education Society members make excellent cakes and would no doubt be prepared to ply you with buns and intellectual debate.

[Noodlemacdoodle]

I'd like to know whther Ed could take up the cause of pediatric cancer care. One child in 750 is diagnosed with cancer, and treatment involves life changing side effects including: learning disabilities, nerve damage, permanent baldness, infertility, mobility problems... to name a few. Despite this horrendous treatement, survival rates are regrettably low. If this was his child, would it be good enough? In this time of auterity measures, does it make sense to create disabled children, to create a drain on teaching resources (as one local headteacher kindly put it to me).

We have, despite the cuts etc, blah blah, a world leading health system, something to be proud of on the whole. What would Ed do to focus this great resource on improving treatment and cure rates? A clue: Only 3% of cancer research funding is spent on ALL types of pediatric cancers, including solid and blood cancers. How could he change this?

[KateMiddIeton]

Mr Miliband, what are you doing to stop the coalition demolishing our welfare state? Why aren't you making more noise and attempting to break up the coalition? You are in opposition so please strap on a pair and oppose!

Alternatively: Mr M, why are you not opposing all of the horrendous cuts when you are supposed to be the opposition?

Sincerely KM #frothers

[DeliaSucksStollen]

If you could put what motivates you, or your political 'raison-d'etre' in to one mantra like sentence, what would it be?

[bananamam]

I'd like to know when can this government be kicked out??

[HugosGoatee]

Why are Labour not presenting a clear alternative to the awful, awful privatisation of all our public services? Academies will result in the death of any standards in education and the NHS stuff is beyond belief, and dangerous. All Labour are doing in the media are presenting cosy soundbites criticising the government and it makes your party sound like they want power more than they want social justice.

There is so much anger and confusion amongst the vast majority of the population at why this is happening, and we have no party to turn to why work in politics if you don't genuinely care about the people who you are meant to represent? Politics in this country feels so 'them and us' and divisive. Literally, MNers could and would make a better job of running this place than any current political party. At least we have genuine values. Where are yours?

%23frothers

[AgentProvocateur]

Who?


I'm joking, but only just. There has been a deafening silence from the opposition as the Tory party decimate the welfare state. Here in Scotland, the Scottish Labour Party got trounced at the last Holyrood elections. They ran a negative campaign, and their leader resigned. They are now in the middle of a leadership battle. I'd like to ask EM how he thinks the Scottish Labour Party can reform to avoid complete humiliation again.

[bananamam]

Mine wasn't so much a question....will watch the thread with interest though

[NettoSuperstar]

Hi Ed.
As a single, disabled parent, could you tell me exactly how a Labour government would be better for me than the current one?

[Alouisee]

Is it more cost effective to keep universal allowances "universal" or target recipients according to need? I'm referring to Child Benefit and Winter fuel allowance.

[NettoSuperstar]

bananamam I'd like to know that too

[lubeybaublely]

Dear Mr Miliband

I would like to know what your thoughts are on housing and the coalitions 'social cleansing' policy. Namely the capping of housing benefit to levels that force the working poor (and all poor) to move away from the jobs they have and areas where they and their children have been settled all their lives, or be poverty stricken in order to meet the shortfall between benefit and rent.

With a lack of Affordable Local Authority and Housing Association properties and also NO regulation on what private landlords charge, it puts people in an impossible, unfair and unworkable situation. What can Labour do to oppose or change this, or what would Labour do if back in government about these issues?

Sincerely LB #frothers

[PetiteRaleuse]

Dear Mr Miliband,

Our current 'government' is starting to make some scary noises about Iran, despite having cut the defence budgets.

If the worst was to happen and they drag us into another pointless war on the US behalf, please can you confirm that you would oppose this? I am aware the last two weren't your fault so won't have a go at you for TB's war lust. But out of interest, did you support those wars?

[CalatalieSisters]

The coalition seems to have succeeded entirely in rebranding the large deficit as entirely a consequence of expenditure protective of the welfare state and social justice, despite a cross-party perception of it during the credit crunch as being a consequence of banking crises. Do you regret your post-election failure to entrench a narrative about the deficit's real causes in the public mind?

The reason I ask is that there seems to be a similar failure to build a narrative in favour of the current strikes. It is evident on Mumsnet that there is huge latent support for such protest, which has no strong central voice, no point of mobilization, thanks to Labour's fear of expressing solid support for industrial action.

Why, are you so afraid to speak decisively to help shape and focus and mobilize moderate left-wing opinion? Why do you allow the right to set the terms of discourse?

[Swedes2]

Dear Mr Miliband

Clearly the Labour party line is that the strike is "a failure". As someone whose position as Labour leader is entirely thanks to the trade unions, are you embarrassed about this fence-sitting?

[BIWI]

Not entirely Swedes. I, for one, as a Labour party member, voted for Ed.

And the trade union votes were from individual trade union members, not from the union as a collective.