"Secret" government plans to "win back women"...

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

Apparently, the Coalition has "secret plans to win back women" by, among other things, cutting school summer holidays, overhauling child benefit and banning advertising to under-16s.

What do you think?

Would plans like this win you back - if, indeed, you ever went away?

granted that from the outset they have lost the win back as I was never theirs in the first place
but it would help tolerance if they had proper thoughtful plans instead of vague headline ideas, most of it comes from a wrong wrong place anyway
(continuing in the vague mode)

I'm still struggling why, with record unemployment, they would cut the holidays affecting the tourist industry- a huge employer, aprticualrly of students trying to pay high costs- and see more redundancies? Where's the logic in that?

I am a total floating voter

Would shorter summer holidays win me back?

erm...
No.

Nothing could 'win me back'. Not that they ever 'had me'.

The problem is that I think a government should be fair and kind. Since this government are neither fair or kind, they do not and will not get my vote.

As an aside, in my experience, the Conservative MP's do not answer letters either. Maybe, writing is too 'tricky' for them ?

Maria Miller answers letters.

her letter (via my MP) said that famillies with disabled children would be fine coping with big income drops as we had time to get used to it.

Now either MM has a miracle cure for all Sn set aside, or she is talking out of her backside. Coz prices are most certainly NOT going down and low cost housing is ahrdly at a surplus either!

Mind you I an see a benefit for one policy-

if thatcher thatcher milk snatcher as a rhyme amde voting Tory ahrd for many of a certain generation, then can you imagine the disgust of the kids given shorter holidays once they reached voting age?

peachy..sorry to hear that but....

"Oh no she doesn't!" Clearly not all her letters as she did not reply to me and that was 6 months ago and IDS doesn't bother either.

Yes indeed about the holidays. As if spoiling everyones fun is going to get them votes

These plans would not woo my vote in their direction.
Like many other posters have already said, the fact that they think these are issues only pertinent to women is insulting and sexist - childcare is a family/carer issue - not just Mums.
I also would hate to see holidays shorter and think the idea of a 'maternity' budget is just shite - people want good local services and have more important things to do and think about than 'shopping' for health care.
Anonymous websites so women can talk about their salaries - why? More attention to actually tackling the issues around unequal pay would be rather more useful than a website to bitch about it.
These ideas are a pile of pants.

that is an awful response Peachy.

I am sure it was my MPs input that got the reply Lego

perhaps they think if we all go on said website we will get onto the matter of shoes and forget their silly arsed stuff?

why would we need to compare our salaries with each other surely it's men we need to be comparing them with?

Yes absolutely. Comparing one woman's wage with another woman's wage is hardly going to highlight gender pay inequality is it?

Yep starta

and they could take carer famillies into account with the new tax credit rules: minimum number of hours 24 (from UC start up), 16 for a family with alone aprent.

But if one of the parents has been removed from the labour market by the need to care for someone disabled (as likely to be elderly as a child) then no distinction. Which is fab
Self employed eprson hits lean period- in double parent family with no carer, one has to go do work to claim styuff whilst other fights for business: in carer family one has to go to do work to claim stuff, other one has a choice of fight for business (and lots have natural down periods) or care for the disabled person. But it's not as if we need people to start businesses or save state cash by caring themselves or anything, because our economy is buoyant enough to absorb whatever people choose to throw at it. And there's LOADS of temp work about for people to just pick up 8 hours here and there as suits.

The thing is that the Tories (let's forget the Lib Dems, I know they wheel Clegg out now and again to attach his name to something or other, but it hardly counts as power) - the Tories are an ideological party, and that ideology is one which benefits existing rich white men. They can fanny around with talk of inclusivity but nothing they've done in their first year demonstrates anything other than that they will do what they have always done, which is to benefit rich white men and if we are lucky, create a few more rich white men. Or if not, persuade some white men that they're richer than before.

They are not the party of women, not the party of the impoverished. They're not interested in us. For about ten minutes before the general election, they managed to look like they might be a bit fairer, but they're just not made that way. I feel very sorry for "nice" conservatives, who have a few ideas they'd like to see benefitting everyone: it isn't possible for the Conservative party to explore those ideas, because it's all about the rich white men, first and foremost, and anything else is spin and dregs. Like this document.

Sorry (for ranting) what I mean is, you're all coming up with ideas and extending ideas: but they can't implement any of these, because they go against their ideology. We, the people, are secondary (now) to the free market. Your disability or your child's special needs, the right you have to walk safe at night or find justice if you are attacked, the RIGHT you have to equal pay: not on their agenda, never have been, never will be.

I'm sure all those female public sector staff who have been made redundant will really appreciate the shorter school holidays and a website to see what other women are earning. It will really help pay the mortgage/rent. Not.

Well yes

We have a parrt with no mandate making huge irreversible changes to the real fabric of our country.

I was Okayish about a coalition: it was sold to me as the aprty of balance, of considered stability.

Ha bleedin ha! We have completely had the rug pulled from under us in what, less than 18 months.

Well after a lifetime of lib dem menership to the extent of being headhunted to stand I just renewed my membership of a party that is not in the coalition. Equally my father who is a former LD candidate. It takes some pretty big balls to dispose of your actual long term members!

They seem to ahve attracted all these new people for the alst election (supposedly) and then forgotten the ones who spent 17 years being laughed at as they did house to house leaflet drops

unwise