Webchat with Labour leadership contender Jess Phillips MP on Monday January 20 at 1pm

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Labour leadership contender Jess Phillips MP on Monday 20 January at 1pm.

Jess Phillips is Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley. Prior to being elected she worked for Women’s Aid, supporting victims of domestic violence. Her campaign says she is often described as the most “outspoken politician at Westminster”, having led campaigns against school cuts, immigration rights and better funding for women’s refuges.

In advance of her coming in, Jess has asked us to pass on the following: “if you share the aims and values of the Labour Party, you can have a vote on who should be Labour's next Leader if you join the Party by 5pm on Monday 20 January. You can join here and if you do it by 5pm on Monday you WILL have a vote in the contest. Find out more here.”

Please do join the chat on Monday at 1pm or if you can’t make it, leave a question here in advance.

We've invited and are hoping to have all of the contenders on over the next few weeks.

As always, please remember our webchat guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered, and please keep it civil. Also if one topic is dominating a thread, mods might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. (And we’ll suspend the accounts of anyone who continues after we've posted to ask people to stop, so please take note.) Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

Many thanks,
MNHQ

[LangCleg]

Hi Jess. Welcome to Mumsnet.

How do you think the Labour Party should engage with the emerging post-liberalism in British politics? Especially the traditionally Labour-voting section?

[bellinisurge]

Do you believe transwomen are women and do you support self-ID?

[YourOpinionIsNoted]

What is your definition of "woman"?

[EmpressLesbianInChair]

Hi Jess. Thank you for being a long term campaigner for women who have suffered domestic abuse.

How do you reconcile this with your recently stated position on Twitter that the Spousal Exit Clause (often misnamed as the Spousal Veto) in the Gender Recognition Act is "awful". This clause exists purely to enable spouses to exit a marriage before the terms of it entirely change.

Would you be willing to discuss this issue further with women who have been in this position (trans widows)?


[Post edited by MNHQ at user's request. This question was originally asked by TinselAngel and is posted on her behalf]

[StealthPolarBear]

Since the questions have already been asked I am not allowed to repeat similar but I want on record that self ID, its potential abuse, protection of vulnerable young people from those who promote transition which can sometimes include puberty blockers, the protection of natal women's rights and the importance of teaching biological facts in schools are big concerns to me.

[littlbrowndog]

Hi jess

Why have voters deserted labour in Scotland and what will you do to engage voters in Scotland?

[GeordieTerf]

Hi Jess,

I am a working-class Northern woman, but I just cannot vote Labour at the moment.

Labour speaks about working-class Northerners like they’re some kind of pathetic charity case, and they also seem to think that we are all still taking about the mine closures? I want to hear about the future of the north, not the past.

Do you think that the way Labour speaks about working-class Northerners effectively engages with those communities?

(And don’t even get me started on how Labour speaks about women!)

[RowanMumsnet]

Thanks for comments on sex/gender identity etc - that's enough on that topic now - we expect there to be lots of qs for Jess on many issues and don't want this to become a single issue webchat.

Thanks

MNHQ

[bellinisurge]

We take your point @RowanMumsnet but it is a subject that is often studiously ignored by web chat guests. Please ensure that doesn't happen.

[TiredofthisBS]

Why did you delete my comment @mnhq?

[MichaelMumsnet]

We’re going to draw a line under comments around gender identity and sex now and will delete any further questions that we think stray into this area. This issue has dominated previous webchats, which we don’t think is fair to our guests nor to the entire Mumsnet user community, some of whom have said they felt put off joining in - not something any MN user has said to us about multiple questions on other topics. Please also bear in mind our guidelines on this specific topic, too.

[RoyalCorgi]

Out of the five candidates for Labour leadership, who do you think has the most convincing working-class credentials?

[Violetparis]

Hi Jess, what is your strategy to win back Leave voters in the North and Midlands who felt ignored and patronised by the party ?

[Graphista]

What do you think is necessary to do to support the many many mentally ill in this country who are currently facing a massive lack of resources and huge difficulties in accessing benefits, non nhs resources, employment and other support?

[chomalungma]

Do you think that it's better to have policies that are really radical but won't get the party elected or have policies that do help people and are likely to not put the electorate off?

[SenselessUbiquity]

Hi Jess,
I believe you abstained in the welfare vote of 2015 (forgive me if I am wrong); admittedly, along with many other Labour MPs and 3 out of the 4 leadership candidates. The 4th, who did not, won the leadership, of course. Austerity has hammered this country and Labour has not offered credible alternatives for far too long. Admittedly politics has been horribly hamstrung by Brexit, but there is a whole generation of middle / low / very low income people who are miserably scraggling for survival during their children's one and only childhoods against a backdrop of cruel, artificial scarcity. Limiting hopes, possibilities, futures, even lives. The electorate didn't appear to believe in 2019 that Labour could or would do anything to improve their lives. What do you think Labour should do about this, firstly to get elected; and then to effect real change, in a context of recession (probably)?

[Winecheesesleep]

Hi Jess, what would your vision be for education, particularly for compulsory education ie pre university? Would you want to tweak it or do something bigger? I like the passion you've shown on this issue in the past.

[KitchenDancefloor]

Hi Jess,

Social care has been flagged as a massive priority for the country yet doing anything about the care of our older people keeps being kicked into the long grass by all parties.

Would you actively seek a solution for the way we care for and funding of the care of older people, especially those with dementia? This issue affects women in particular who often become the default carers of older generations whilst looking after their own children and grandchildren.

Thank you

[YogaDrone]

What would be your top three issues to address should you become Labour leader, and how would you look to fix these issues?
Thanks

[Violetparis]

Hi Jess
Can you confirm whether you told Diane Abbott to fuck off as you claimed in an interview ? If you did, have you apologised to her ? If you didn't, why did you lie about it ?

[ButterflyRuns]

Hi Jess.

What is your plan to deal with the homelessness crisis in our country that has risen by 165% since the Tories came to power and will you commit to much needed investment in building new affordable housing & council housing?

[RicketyClickety]

Why is it so hard for women raising experience of harm (Rotherham, Jimmy Saville, vaginal mesh, etc, etc, etc) to be taken seriously? And if you were Labour leader what would you do to improve the process and cut the number of years between whistle-blowing/alarm raised -> being believed -> action.

[Beamur]

Hi Jess
It's interesting to see so many women on the shortlist for this role.
Given the rough ride that both Teresa May and Jo Swinson have enjoyed as female Leaders do you think that women are held to different standards than their male counterparts?
If I may ask an extension of this question, specifically do you think women hold other women to a higher accountability when their decisions impact in a way that is more, or potentially more, detrimental to females - for example with policies in schools, provision/erosion of single sex services, part time working, benefits, caring for dependants, to name a few.

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Hi Jess
What are you going to do for women’s healthcare?

I spent years with serious undiagnosed gynaecological issues. After looking for neurological / sleep issues, I was advised there was nothing wrong and I was referred to a male psychiatrist, who heads up the chronic fatigue clinic. He told me I was depressed.

Years went by and my health deteriorated. I became really ill, largely bedridden and I finally demanded a private gynaecologist referral when I needed morphine for the stomach pains. As a result I had a very invasive hysterectomy. Six months later the entire 8 inch incision herniated and I had emergency mesh insertion.

I had no gp follow up beyond what I sought myself. No programme of physio. I am not recovered a year on. I was and remain disabled with very low energy largely because of this. I am spending thousands on private physio. Yet someone, who has a simple operation to mend a torn ligament will be offered physio.

Why is women’s health so low on the agenda?

[TresDesolee]

Hi Jess

I’m a big fan, have been since you entered Parliament.

You seemed to touch the ‘third rail’ a couple of weeks ago when you said you’d like to return to the EU. Then it felt like you had to row back hard.

Is this an issue where ‘speaking truth’ is something you can’t do? Is building a reputation for unalloyed honesty a strategic mis-step if running for major office?