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

Can I just say that the biscuit thing came about years ago when cod asked it of Tony Blair and he answered, ignoring all the very pertinent and relevant questions we had spent ages constructing.

I have gone on about it ever since in a very high and mighty way.

I should have foreseen that just one mention of it was all it took for Justine to get her own back of my criticisms of Mumsnet at that time!

Justine - you owe me another pint of Guinness for that one! AND a job like the one you offered Quint!

Or I'm on strike..........

Ed there are numerous questions regarding disability, carers, welfare reform, cuts to education and health provision for people with disabilities and the strain we're under with coalition policy. Any chance of taking a look at those?

Mr Milliband

You should make note of this - hashtag frothers on Twitter

(my computer is not letting me put in the hashtag symbol)

@TheRhubarb

Ed, my problem is that there are essentially only two political parties left in this country. The Conversatives don't give a hoot about the public sector as they don't use it and are only interested in partnering with their banking buddies whilst penalising women and children with higher childcare taxes, tax benefit cuts and so on. The Labour party on the other hand didn't act quickly to stop the credit crisis, they were too soft on benefit claimants, too soft on immigration issues and too soft on the unions.

I don't think any party has what it takes to lead this country. So how can you convince me that my vote is actually worth anything at all?

I agree with you on the Conservatives! On us, we didn't get everything right in government, including on the way we handled Eastern European immigration. We should have had longer transitional controls and done more to stop the sense that people's wages where were being undercut. But it was a good government in my view, including on investment in the NHS and schools.

And this government is showing comprehensively it is on the wrong side of the majority of people....

Yup Glitternickaz, the ones on the first page... am hoping by the time I post this there may be another answer answer or two to those ones...

Ed makes a good point in reference to kettlecrisps questions - growth means greater tax receipts which means we can pay down the deficit quicker and with less pain. It is like working harder and getting a payrise when you need to pay off a credit card. You might accumlate a bit more interest in the short term but can pay if off quicker so it works out better overall. That assumes it is possible to create growth in the current climate which would be challenging for anyone.

Thanks for answering my question. I agree, our troops rock and it isn't their fault their budget is being cut. And the attack on the embassy was appalling.

I don't trust the government and the US not to take us into another war though and that is very scary.

I hope MNHQ find you some jaffa cakes soon.

what are you on alibaba!? how is... offensive to you and so offensive you decide to be rude and time wasting in the midst of what is actually emergency situation?

most bizarre. i'm a frothing feminist as most know and i don't find ... to be a sexist issue somehow. he's typing fast and doing better than most at getting through a decent amount of questions. the ... denotes that much more could be said but he's cracking on.

how very rude you are!

It's because it is an unelected govt !

Please join in with the frothers. We want to make a difference.

And this government is showing comprehensively it is on the wrong side of the majority of people....

Yes, but I would argue that you are not presenting an effective and coherent opposition. What are YOU going to do about that?

Hi Mr Miliband,
Thank you for doing this webchat.

I am confused by your points re the Tories' economic failure. As you pointed out President Obama and the Eurozone are all facing economic crisis - how exactly could the current government have avoided this in their 18 month tenure? Labour had 13 years to prepare for the inevitable 'bust' in the cycle.

Two other points (not questions- following the rules !)

1. I feel the Labour Party has given up on Scotland and giving an adequate opposition to the awful SNP
2. My husband is a farmer who, to make his farm run efficiently, pays himself the bare minimum, which is our sole income (figure too embarrassing to type!). He pays 15% into a private pension. Please don't mention public sector pensions!!!! I say this as a SAHM and 'retired' NHS midwife! There are private sector workers who work 80 hour weeks and have NO public appreciation.

Thanks again

The elipses are at the end of all his responses alibaba - poor show to you.

I like that answer, Ed, it seemed genuinely honest, albeit just the tip of the iceberg. Wish you'd take that kind of verve to the Lib Dems and show them that you believe you could do better with them....

Ed Miliband

Thank you to replying to my post.

I'm sure all parties have a wide range of backgrounds. I admire David Davis background, and that he worked for private business (Tate and Lyle).

I want a politition to be straight, not reply in a way that does not answer any one question, or give a rose tinted view on things. You did not answer any of my questions. When, I see Vince Cable on telly, he always appears to give a direct answer. Neither Cameron nor Toby Blair did/do this.

I would love to see commonsense reform of the public sector, and the redtape cut, and some people's public sector mentality changing. Current spending is surely unsustainable, and our children will be paying for it?

I want a smaller government, surely we could reduce MP's by at least 100?

I would love someone leading the country who has worked, and understands how the private economy works, and take a common sense approach. We only seem to have a choice of career polititions at present.

I'm a voter who sits on the fence, I don't like big government, and would love the country to be alble to straighten its books by reducing the huge overspend, without the social gains of the last century being thrown away. I don't see the current Condem government achieving this.

@notsomumsie

What's the strategy for winning the next election Ed?

I think we will win the next election by showing that our values and the kind of country we want to build reflect the values of the British people. A huge issue in our politics is going to be whose side are you on? I think the government is showing it is not on the side of the 99% who it is making pay for the 2008 crisis without regard to fairness.

You still owe me a pint Justine...

and for what it's worth, the last government was rubbish. They forced us into a war we could neither afford nor wanted. Blair lied to get us into that war. People died because of him. That does not make a good government.

Dear Mr Milliband,

is it time for the Labour party to stop being funded by the Unions, seeing as even you and Mr Balls found it impossible to defend the irresponsible strikes yesterday?

@northeastofeden

Ed makes a good point in reference to kettlecrisps questions - growth means greater tax receipts which means we can pay down the deficit quicker and with less pain. It is like working harder and getting a payrise when you need to pay off a credit card. You might accumlate a bit more interest in the short term but can pay if off quicker so it works out better overall. That assumes it is possible to create growth in the current climate which would be challenging for anyone.

Thanks I agree. Growth can be created with the right measures otherwise we are in a 1930s mentality that says nothing can be done.

Do you see yourself being Labour Leader at the next General Election ? And if not, who would you like to see ?

Good answer. Not! The question is why don't you stand behind the country for once and stop playing political point scoring? You've merely read my question and observed that that I don't agree with you.

My question is that in other countries they have had to put their party issues aside and be honest that the debt needs tackling. Growth etc. lovely when it happens but we're all reacting to ever changing circumstances.

What we can do is ensure we are able to keep our government borrowing rates down as low as we can. All the rest of the political issues become rather irrelevant unless this is achieved.

I think it is irresponsible of you and Ed Balls is to continue to behave in this manner. There is no golden alternative. Tell it as it is and as bad as it is to do otherwise is dangerous. Do you want the country to implode.

Some people actually believe what you say you know!

Ask him about Justine Justine,is she an MNer?

Is she here now?

i think you'll win the election from people having seen what the tories are really about again and having had a recent labour government to be able to see and feel the difference. then hopefully they won't go back to sleep and vote the greedy boys back in next time they get bored/worried and think a change of face might be nice

it's amazing how people forget.

@Ahzrei

Dear Mr Milliband,

is it time for the Labour party to stop being funded by the Unions, seeing as even you and Mr Balls found it impossible to defend the irresponsible strikes yesterday?

We are part-funded by millions of working people, who are members of trade unions. I disagree with you and I am proud of our link with them.

kettlechips Erm, yes, because it makes sense. Noble prize winning economists also agree that all cuts and no growth is totally stupid - why don't you?

Ahzrei, the strikes were not irresponsible, you would have done the same if someone had decided to change your 'contract' to your detriment would you not?