Nick Clegg on Mumsnet this Thursday (16th Sept) evening between 8 and 9 pm

[JustineMumsnet]

We're delighted that the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, will be joining us for a webchat this Thursday evening 8 and 9pm.

Next week the Deputy PM will be joining other world leaders, celebrities and business leaders who are gathering in New York for the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit. He will be aiming for global action to reduce the shocking number of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth in the world's poorest countries.

Nick is happy to answer your questions on the UN summit as well as on his role as Deputy Prime Minster. Join us on Thursday evening or if you can't make it along then post your question (one each only please) here.

Thanks.

Hi Nick

How is it being deputy PM? Previous deputy PMs haven't really (in my opinion) seemed to have a proper portfolio - they've not been true deputies or second in command. What is your role?

I would like to know that answer to the Fawcett question too please

.

Dear Nick,

I voted for the Lib Dems at great expense, making sure my vote got to the UK in time etc.

I feel utterly betrayed by the coalition and by you joinung the coalition in the first place. I will be voting for Labour come next election.

Will you ever be able to convince me and the several other disillusioned LD voters that you can ever be trusted to do the right thing?

Nick,

As Deputy PM you must have a 'vision' of the role which you play for the country and what the electorate expect of you (especially your LibDem supporters), what exactly do you feel it is and do you think David Cameron shares the same vision as you?

was the pursuit of power worth it doesnt your conscience trouble you regards all potential public sector cuts?it should

Dear Mr Clegg.
Can you explain exactly how David Cameron has come to the conclusion that only the poorest families should be able to access essential Sure Start services?
Does he think that problems such as breastfeeding difficulties, Postnatel depresssion, behavioural difficulties, potty training and the need to simply get out the house and see another human being are problems restricted to families on low incomes?
The myth that middle class mums are taking over sure start centres is a myth. Statistics show that the hardest families to engage with are the lower income families. They simply do not want to access services. The liberal democrats promised to keep this service as YOU saw the need that Sure Start filled and how much of a life saver it actually is to those families who access it.
Will this be yet another promise that the lib dems made before the election that will simply be swept under the carpet?
Please dont let us down!

Nick, why do you hate Gordon Brown so much?
Surely you can see that despite all his flaws as a politician he is a principled man who cares deeply about making society fairer, how can you prefer to be best buddies with that Cameron?

Really though Nick, why? Why did you do it?

I do a lot of work with people in the NHS in England and I would like to point out to you that the putting of the entire NHS budget into GP's hands is going to be a disaster. GP practices are private businesses; GPs will become both providers and commissioners and this is a fundamental conflict of interest; they mostly have no skills to run such complex commissioning and financial operations; the postcode lottery will go crazy and principles of equity and fairness from one area to another will be out the window; management costs will multiply because each consortia will be hiring their own commissioing teams, going back to the problems already seen with multiple PCTs prior to 2006; you cannot have increased integration of health care (health records accessible to all relevant health professionals etc) while fragmenting the system- they are in competition which each other now and they have no incentive to co-operate. And as a member of a health charity, I and many colleagues in other organisations have found it very difficult to engage GPs in anything at all. Cameron himself said during the election that there would be no major restructuring of the NHs, that what he believed was needed was a period of consolidation, because this is what people in teh NHS had told him. Elected in- sort of- and the real ideology-driven agenda comes out.
PS I will not vote for AV if the Tories tag on a re-alignment of boundaries in their favour.

Mumsnet HQ, can you tell us, is Nick typing his own answers and reading the whole thread or has he got an assitant picking out questions?
Thanks.

The journey to the States for the MDG would be commendable if your government had not started attacking the women in your own country so blatantly: one of the first policy announcements was to get anonymity for rapists, next came the budget cuts unfairly aimed at women ( you must answer the question about the Fawcett Society and why your govt has simply ignored their challenge), then you have scrapped the enquiry into police handling of rape following (because it is appalling).

So, to date, your government is not showing much interest in women's issues - so the question is why on earth would we take you at your word about anything to do with women's rights?

i'd just like 2 say welcome 2 mumsnet webchat (as i havent read many positive/constructive thoughts so far)

ah-iwhen i said that i didnt realise the thread was this long, sorry

i am so looking forward to the outakes in the press with some of the nicknames on here

Its past 8 by my watch Mr Clegg

Nick,

Who would you like to win the labour leadership election?

I also hope you respond to SanctiMoanyArse's question as they are ones which I would really like to here the answer to as she has worded them much better than I ever could :)

3 minutes to be precise, except its 1.03 in the afternoon here in Canada :)

Please ask him plans for Child Benefit?is it too much to ask to leave this alone for the majority>

It might be quite hard to chose a question to be fair

Lets crack on then...

Ok so Nick Clegg is with us and ready to go. Over to you DPM.

Hello everyone, thanks for having me on Mumsnet this evening. As you know, I?m here to chat today about the MDG Summit at the United Nations next week, and particularly to focus on maternal health in developing countries.
So development is tonight?s theme, but I?ve just read through the thread and seen that there are quite a few posts about the coalition. So, if nobody minds, I thought I'd jot down a few responses first.

I can see that opinion amongst MNers on the new government is pretty mixed. But, I have to say that, for me, the choice now is as clear as it was then: no party won the election, so the only way to give Britain a strong and stable government is if politicians work together. That means a coalition is necessary, and it has to reflect the preferences people expressed at the ballot box.
Coalition is normal in a lot of other countries, but its not something we?re used to here. That said, a lot of people I have met have told me they think it makes sense. They have to work with people very different to them, why shouldn?t politicians as well? In government it means combining the best of our ideas, and I think even we have been surprised at how radical that has allowed us to be. We now have a five year plan that will get the economy back on track and clean up our politics too.
A big priority for us is making sure the UK with others plays its part in helping the world?s poorest, which is what next week?s summit is all about. It?s a scandal that every three seconds a child dies somewhere in the world from causes that could have been prevented. And for millions and millions of women pregnancy carries huge risks. So we?ll be using the Summit to push for an action plan with other countries and partners to tackle the poverty and disease that blight so many societies. I?d love to hear your views on these issues so, please, fire away.

Hmmm. Not loving the meconium coloured highlight. Is that Lib Dem yellow with a good blob of tory blue thrown in?

If you want to clean up politics - how about starting with Andy Coulson?

Hi Nick,

Given how badly the Lib Dems did in the general election do you really think the coaltion govt does reflect the preferences people expressed at the ballot box?