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

Why are you stopping short of expressing support for the strikes?

ok random question in case you get time at the end:

how does someone get into politics who isn't from a public school background or young or well connected? oh and who is female and has a child i guess.

I think you'll win the next election too,i always voted Labour and stupidly voted LibDem last time.

I will never do that again.

@KateMiddIeton

We are the frothers LittleDonkey and Ed you can join us here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/politics/a1353521-Im-not-quite-a-frothing-berserker-but-I-am-getting-rather-cross-with-our-government-messing-with-the-good-stuff#28761113

We're not political. We've just had enough.

#frothers is our hashtag. Because we are getting organised...

I am not surprised you are angry about it. I support the campaign against what is happening. #frothers

Please answer some of the questions from the first page of this thread :(

I'd like to know that too SwallowedAfly!

I think Labour will win the election most by the massive swing of poor deluded libdem voters who have been horrified by the coalition.

YES !

Thank you for the support Ed :o #frothers

haha! yaya! #frothers!

swallowedAfly, don't you think thats a lazy way to win an election? It does strike me that nothing is being done, no true opposition because there's an assumption that the worse the ConDems make it the easier it'll be for Labour to win without really trying. I'd rather vote in a party who opposed the ConDems now, who stood up for the people it claims to want to protect and became proactive.

Maybe we should be #Ed's frothers

Ed, please could you answer the question about cancer research for children.

Are we there yet?

Thank you Ed. Now, how about having a look at the first page of questions please?

#frothers an accidental revolution

I didn't say all cuts and no growth. The growth however won't come out of the public sector. People react to what's happening at the time. I don't think when government came in the Eurozone issue was on the piece of paper everyone was working from? Yes growth is obviously lower than anticipated but then look out at the world. Then look back here and thank our lucky stars what the government borrowing interest rate is currently.

Ed,
Why can't the Labour Party admit that there is no choice but to make cuts and act in the interest of the country? Or would that be too much like admiting you got it wrong when you were in power?

@lubeybaublely

Dear Mr Miliband

I would like to know what your thoughts are on housing and the coalitions 'social cleansing' policy. Namely the capping of housing benefit to levels that force the working poor (and all poor) to move away from the jobs they have and areas where they and their children have been settled all their lives, or be poverty stricken in order to meet the shortfall between benefit and rent.

With a lack of Affordable Local Authority and Housing Association properties and also NO regulation on what private landlords charge, it puts people in an impossible, unfair and unworkable situation. What can Labour do to oppose or change this, or what would Labour do if back in government about these issues?

Sincerely LB #frothers

I'm in favour of reform to Housing Benefit but I think the Government is going about it in the wrong way, cutting too far and too fast with counter-productive consequences. Even before the cap is introduced, we're seeing people forced to leave their homes and go on the homeless list - and that may end up costing the taxpayer more in the long term. And yes, I agree, there should be better regulation of private sector landlords.

Ahem, cross posts.

Blimey it's taken me ages to read through from when I last posted!

Answer my question please Ed and Merry Christmas!

Ed - thank you for supporting the frothers and please get your staff to keep an eye on us. Our views are what I think Labour should be standing for and we are currently rudderless.

Ed didnt answer numerous emails regarding the failure of labourt towards disabled children and incontinence products. This is why I left the Party, among other things.

littlewhitewolf i don't give a flying how we win it so long as the tories fingers are snapped out of the till asap before they sell every remaining asset we have off on the cheap to their pals. it really doesn't matter.

it goes beyond party politics for me - there are basic issues of morality that the tory party is in utter opposition too.

Before you go.... Spending £900 million on planning HS2 in this parliament - is this the right priority for taxpayers money while cutting essential services?

Hooray for #frothers! [shameless plug...]