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Mumsnet webchats

MNHQ here: webchat with Harriet Harman MP on Monday 20 February at 1pm

120 replies

BojanaMumsnet · 17/02/2017 15:19

Hello,

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Harriet Harman MP on Monday 20 February at 1pm.

Harriet was twice Acting Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and she has spent 28 years on the Front Bench. She was elected as MP for Peckham in 1982 and has campaigned for women’s rights, including introducing the National Childcare Strategy, all women shortlists, the Equality Act and changing the law on domestic violence. She was at the forefront of Labour's efforts to reach women voters before the 2015 general election, leading to the infamous 'Pink Bus' being pranged in the MNHQ car park as Yvette Cooper left Mumsnet Towers.

Harriet’s recently published autobiography, A Woman’s Work, included her account of being sexually harassed by at least three men during her career, which hit the headlines (example here and here).

Please do join us on the day - Monday 20 Feb, at 1pm - or if you can’t make it, post a question in advance on this thread.

Please remember our webchat guidelines: one question each, with a follow-up to the webchat guest's response if appropriate; please don't keep posting 'what about me/please answer my question'; and please be civil/polite.

Thanks
MNHQ

MNHQ here: webchat with Harriet Harman MP on Monday 20 February at 1pm
MNHQ here: webchat with Harriet Harman MP on Monday 20 February at 1pm
VanillaSugar · 17/02/2017 21:11

Hi Harriet

What advice would you give to young female graduates today? These girls deserve equal rights for salary and promotional prospects, yet everyday sexism seems more prevalent today than it did in 1987 when I graduated. #askingForMyDaughter

RespoDad · 18/02/2017 00:06

What's your favourite biscuit?

DeviTheGaelet · 18/02/2017 12:06

Hi Harriet, thank you for all the work you've done over the years for women, especially in the face of media hostility. My question is, Simone de Beauvoir said, "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman". How would you interpret "becoming a woman" and what are the biggest challenges you think are facing women today?

CaliforniaHorcrux · 18/02/2017 15:18

Hello Harriet
My son and I have been Labour Party members for many years but most times we've offered to help or get involved we've been ignored or looked over or forgotten etc. When you had the Pink Bus for the last GE I asked you on Twitter to let me know when it would be in my area and you said you'd get back to me but didn't, and I missed it. I was disappointed and frustrated as I wanted to talk about the Minimum Income For Spouse Visas which affected me. Would you be willing to look into improvements within the party for better volunteer co-ordination please?

NooNooMummy · 18/02/2017 16:45

Hi Harriet,

I loved what you had to say on Graham Norton recently.   

Could you also use your position to highlight the unfairness that exists in this country whereby a father can waltz out of his children's lives, live like a born-again bachelor and no court will force him to be more involved in the care of his children. Meanwhile the mother is left with 24/7 care of the children whilst also juggling full-time work, the cost and logistics of childcare and little time-off from such responsibilities.  

Maybe you could use your position to put something in place that addresses this inequality?

Men make alot of noise about wanting equal rights to the residency of their children (i.e. Fathers for Justice) but everyone just accepts that a mother will carry the full burden in situations where the father is not interested in seeing his children.  In more enlightened societies (e.g Sweden) the courts recognise the mother's right not to be left with sole responsibility for childcare and, where a couple cannot agree the childcare and contact arrangements themselves, Swedish courts automatically divide the child's time 50:50 between the parents unless there are compelling reasons against this.  In this country, contrary to the enlightened Swedish approach, a mother is advised that she cannot apply to court for such a 50:50 split if the father does not want such contact with his children - an English court will only consider such an order if both parents want it or if the mother is refusing to allow such access to a father that wants it. 

Hence I find myself with 24/7 care of my 3 year old daughter whilst also needing to work full-time. I have no family living nearby to help me with childcare.  I chose to end my marriage in 2016 and assumed that my husband and I would continue to share the care of our daughter.  He earns v little and, when he eventually gets around to starting to pay child maintenance to me, it will be approx £300/ month i.e. a sum that barely covers my daughter's nursery fees or my mortgage.  He lives very close to us - he moved to a flat in the next street which is a 5 minute walk from me and our daughter's home.  Yet he is able to choose not to spend any time with his daughter.  And I bear full responsibility.   How is this even legal?!!

(FYI - Yes, I have accepted that a man who behaves like this is probably no great loss to us.  Yes, we are probably better off without him.  However, this does not justify the inequality of the situation in which many single mothers find themselves).

HollyBollyBooBoo · 19/02/2017 07:04

Amazing post NooNoo!

It blows my mind that my ExH and father of my daughter can leave the country to a country where I can't chase him for maintenance (although I am lucky he has seen the light and is now paying) and I am left to raise our child alone. So unfair on me and her.

MissBeehiving · 19/02/2017 07:24

Hi Harriet, thank you for all the work you have done 🙂

What's the most important lesson life has taught you so far?

AskBasil · 19/02/2017 09:52

Hi Harriet

The Equalities Select Committee has recommended that self-identification alone, should be the legal standard as to whether someone is legally considered a man or a woman. This means in practice, that a man with a penis, with no intention of getting rid of that penis or taking hormones, would legally be considered a woman and it would be a hate crime to say they were not.

The tabloids have recently reported that the child murderer Ian Huntley, has decided he is a woman, who wants to be known as Lian.

If the equalities select committee's recommendations go through, then Lian will have the right to serve the rest of his sentence in a woman's prison, because if you genuinely believe that a man is a woman because he says he is (which is basically what the select committee's position is), then you cannot pick and choose which men you believe; you have to believe all of them, not just the ones you like.

Are you in agreement with the select committee recommendations?

Lovecat · 19/02/2017 11:36

Hi Harriet, can I ask why you didn't stand for labour leader in 2010 or thereafter? You'd have got my vote. I know that you've said it was a mystery to yourself why you didn't stand after Brown resigned - was it anything to do with the way you knew the press would treat you? As no fan of Teresa May it infuriates me the way she is now fawned over, when I suspect that you or any female labour leader would get ripped to shreds...

ForalltheSaints · 19/02/2017 11:54

Harriet,

In London air quality is a major current issue. What advice would you give the London Mayor and the government to tackle this in the short-term?

MollyHuaCha · 19/02/2017 12:36

Hi Harriet,

The Conservatives have so far produced two female prime ministers. When can we expect a woman leader for the Labour Party?

Ouriana · 19/02/2017 15:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

StrawberryTournament · 19/02/2017 18:37

Hi Harriet, What would you like the UK to achieve in the next 10 years or so?

dorade · 19/02/2017 22:14

Hi Harriet
I too am very concerned about the move to allow anyone to self-identify as a woman. Not only for the reasons outlined by other posters but also because it means male-bodied people can compete in women's sport and take quotas set aside for women. A Labour all-women shortlist could conceivably be entirely transwomen. Taken to the extreme we could achieve 50:50 representation in parliament with every single MP possessing a penis. If anyone can call themself a woman then woman ceases to have any meaning.

What is your view on this issue please?

DameDeDoubtance · 19/02/2017 22:21

Another woman who is concerned about a change in the law that would make self identification legal. Imagine if it was possible to identify as black, how insulting would that be.

I want women to retain the safe spaces that they fought so hard for, do you agree?

domesticslattern · 19/02/2017 22:24

Welcome to MN.
Do you mind talking Brexit? as that's the big thing occupying my mind right now.
Are you proud of how the Labour Party, as the chief opposition party, has performed since the Brexit referendum? Can you say why/ why not?

HamletsSister · 19/02/2017 22:41

How long do you think Trump will last?

GirlScout72 · 20/02/2017 07:10

Hi Harriet

Thanks for all the work you have done for women, particularly in the arena of Domestic Abuse. I have a related question.

I too am worried about the transgender self identification debate in the House of Commons on Friday (I hope you will be attending) and how it will impact women and girls.

My question is, how do you feel about Kelly (Frank) Maloney being used as an NHS transgender case study and being touted in the media as 'brave' when Ms Maloney - by their own admission in press reports - has a history of domestic violence against his / her wife? Indeed, Ms Maloney almost strangled his/her wife to death and perhaps would have succeeded if their children had not intervened.

In reports about this, the explanation for the violence was given as Ms Maloney being under 'extreme pressure' due to their gender confusion. This seems to fly in the face of all research with domestic violence perpetrators (e.g. the Duluth Model, the Freedom Programme) - men don't attack women due to 'pressure'.

Also if Self Identification passes into law, these crimes will be recorded as if they were committed by a woman. I am concerned about how this will affect crime statistics as currently, all statistics show that domestic abuse is very much a sexed crime, with men overwhelmingly the perpetrators and women overwhelmingly the victims (even where men are the victims, the perpetrator is still usually male). Also according to longitudinal studies in Sweden trans women continue to enact male pattern violence following transition.

How can we make good policy and provisions for domestic violence services if it is not clear who is committing the crimes?

Given every worldwide report puts violence against women and girls at epidemic levels, I wondered what your thoughts were on this.

Thank you.

ProfAnnieT · 20/02/2017 09:19

The state of the NHS is deeply worrying, and I don't know whether it is a deliberate ploy to run it into the ground, or just a side-effect of Conservative policy, but I find it so frustrating that there seems to be no-one holding them to account for this or proposing alternative plans. As far as I can see from the Labour "NHS Campaign" website, all they have done is set up a petition to "call on Theresa May to give the NHS the funding it needs". We all know petitions don't effect change on their own. An actual policy on what Labour would do to find that funding, and how it would support the NHS in meeting the changing demands of our society seems lacking, as does any substance for a "campaign". You say on your website you will "work closely with my Labour colleagues to fight against these cuts" - what does that "fight" actually look like, how are your measuring your effectiveness in doing so, and what is Labour's vision for the NHS?

TresDesolee · 20/02/2017 09:25

Hi Harriet - big fan of yours and so many questions!

Do you agree with Diane Abbott that you would have thought twice about going into politics if you'd known how much abuse you would get?

Cheeky extra ones...

In retrospect, do you think whipping Labour MPs to vote for welfare cuts in 2015 (when you were interim leader) contributed to Corbyn's election as leader?

If you could wave a magic wand now and change anything about the Equalities Act, what if anything would you change?

KateMumsnet · 20/02/2017 09:46

Hello all - thanks for your questions so far. We now have quite a few on transgender, and as we're keen that this doesn't become a single-issue webchat, we think that's enough for now.

We'll certainly encourage Harriet to respond, but please do refrain from posting any additional questions on this one - as with any topic, it can be off-putting for those who are less engaged with it to see it dominate the discussion.

Thanks,

MNHQ

user1479748652 · 20/02/2017 09:56

If you met Donald Trump, what would you like to say (or do) to him?

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PigletWasPoohsFriend · 20/02/2017 10:01

Hi Harriet

How long do you think we will have to wait gorgeous a female Labour leader and why do you think candidates so far have failed to be elected?

FloraFox · 20/02/2017 10:10

Kate I was about to post a question about the Gender Identity (Protected Characteristic) Bill coming to parliament on 24th. Since you don't want us to ask any more questions on that point, I won't post my question. We often find on these webchats that the guest evades answering questions on this issue. Could you therefore request that Harriet gives a meaningful answer to the issues raised in the questions so far?

AssassinatedBeauty · 20/02/2017 10:11

I'm not a Labour voter, but I would like to see the Labour Party as an effective opposition and a credible alternative to the Conservative Party. What do you think the Labour Party needs to do to achieve this?

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