Stella Creasy, Shadow Home Affairs minister with responsibility for violence against women: live webchat TODAY, Thursday 27 September 1-2pm

[FrancesMumsnet]

We are pleased to announce that Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, will be joining us for a webchat on Thursday 27 September from 1-2pm. Prior to being an MP, Stella was Head of Public Affairs at the Scout Association. She is Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention, and has campaigned on pay day loans (including lobbying presenters Ant and Dec about their association with payday loans company Wonga).

Stella is now supporting One Billion Rising UK, the UK arm of the wider One Billion Rising campaign, an international coalition to end violence against women and girls. The campaign will culminate on 14 February 2013 on the 15th anniversary of V Day. V-Day is about women's collective strength, numbers and solidarity across borders. You can see Stella's Mumsnet Blog about One Billion Rising here.

As ever, if you're unable to join us on the day please post your questions in advance here.

Thank you
MNHQ

[StellaCreasyMP]

apols answered your earlier question above somewhere as didn't have the hang of the quote thingy. as to your second am well aware that people want politics to be showbusiness for ugly people! its why i say I didn't get elected as stella but as labour and as walthamstow - i want people to judge me by how well I serve the community and the causes I represent, not whether you think i'm glam (which as my mother frequently reminds me is a work in progress...;-) as politics isn't about 650 people but the way we make decisions as a society.

@poppyseeds99

Hi Stella,
I've got 2 questions

What's your view on paid/unpaid internships? Surely if we ban unpaid internships then we're not giving our young the chance to get a bit of experience, which might in turn lead to a job?

And I have always been of the opinion that politicians - yes, even Labour ones - are self-serving and use their affiliation to political parties as a means to get ahead. What can you say to convince me that you're not self-serving and that you became an MP to serve your constituency, not just for the fame and glam factor?

Thanks!

[FrothyOM]

that really just means thanks round here!

[StellaCreasyMP]

I agree very much- I'm also mindful that increasingly many people have caring responsibilities too. Within the next few years the balance between people over 65 and under 65 will change in our society- unless we find a different way of working that allows both a better work life balance for all (whether parents or carers) we will miss out on the contribution many people can make as well as end up not being able to support either our youngest or our oldest generation. it the biggest demographic challenge politics is facing now- you should hold all of us to account for how we help Britain address it!

@JammySplodger

Hello Stella, glad you're enjoying the biscuits!

There are an awful lot of mums on here and at various school gates who would love to return to work, in particular professional jobs they are skilled and good at, but find it really hard getting anything part-time that fits alongside family life and does their skills justice.

Things have definitely improved for new mums returning to the same job after maternity leave, but do you have an sense of things changing for professional part-time parents? Personally I think the British economy is missing a trick, there's a huge underused talent pool out here.

[StellaCreasyMP]

fine right yeah totally, didn't read anything else into it at all....anyway....

@FrothyOM

that really just means thanks round here!

[StellaCreasyMP]

People will judge all of us through their frames of reference- whether our working background or our gender or our age- until they see what you do. Then they judge you -for good or bad! - by your actions IMHO

@champagnesupernova

Hi Stella
I am in an annoying meeting tomorrow but am a big admirer - you are v similar age to me and I also worked in PR.

Do you think the 'career' politico tagline people give to people with your professional background is unfair?

How did you like the world of PR and how does it compare to your job now?

[StellaCreasyMP]

My name is a family name and now I'm older I'm proud of it but did get a lot of jokes growing up about being married to rene from 'ello 'ello (as he was rene artois) or did I have a brother called carl (sberg) etc everytime too the person who said it thought they were the first person to come up with it too......makes resigned smiley face

@wildpoppy

Do you like your name? It's on our shortlist.

[QWERTYmonster]

Thanks for the answer on DV funding (would still like to hear one - just one - MP say that we need the ringfence back, mind!)

One Billion Rising campaign workshops link here for those who are interested. Will try to get to the East London one.

[StellaCreasyMP]

actually goes a bit partisan all the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner candidates have promised to protect funding for VAWG services. But my point is I think we need to do much more- for example I'm constantly infuriated by housing associations who don't see their role in protecting DV victims, and think MARACs are geared in the wrong way which also influences funding decisions. We spend £40bn on dealing with DV victims every year and yet still 30% of murder cases involve it. The women (and men) affected by this need us to get our act together and I hope through OBRUK to get this on the national agenda but to do that I need the help of people like yourself and other mumsnet readers to get involved and help show this should be a priority! takes a breath

@QWERTYmonster

Thanks for the answer on DV funding (would still like to hear one - just one - MP say that we need the ringfence back, mind!)

One Billion Rising campaign workshops link here for those who are interested. Will try to get to the East London one.

[StellaCreasyMP]

sorry realise I'm using twitter punctuation and putting * around things but its coming up as bold on the chat rather than as an aside. My helpful assistant here has also just pointed this out. I have confiscated the crisps by return.....

[StellaCreasyMP]

please bear with me as still trying to tab down to find the questions.....

[StellaCreasyMP]

yes and there was a westminster hall debate on it two weeks ago - well on services for victims of domestic violence but we used it to raise issue and get minister to agree to help! [quote FrothyOM]The thread on this - called benefit caps could decimate the refuge system - is here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/in_the_news/1567760-Benefit-caps-could-decimate-the-refuge-system[/quote]

[RachelGuildford]

Dear Stella

I strongly support initiatives which raise the profile of the prevalence and severity of violence against women globally. However, I am really concerned about much of the imagery and messages contained within the new One Billion Rising film.

In particular, there is a strong suggestion that individual women can always resist violence if they make that choice - which simply is not the reality for the vast majority of women around the world.

Please could you let us know how the UK part of this campaign will develop clear messages and demands of government to ensure that this does not become a one dimensional shock tactic campaign which fails to address the structural inequalities which women face and which frame the violence they experience worldwide.

Many thanks,
Rachel

[QWERTYmonster]

we use for stage directions on MN

As in

[StellaCreasyMP]

thank you - that's very kind voted for someone else ey? will check my lists...;-) hope I can persuade you to help with some of our local work? will certainly need assistance nagging our local healthcare providers yet again given we still don't have our sexual healthcare services locally......

@Woodlands

I just wanted to echo TheFarSide - you are my local MP and while I campaigned for a different candidate in 2010, I think you're doing a great job and you'll have my vote next time.

[StellaCreasyMP]

listen they get a lifetimes worth of training in the marvels of indie music of the 1990s. They do very well! [quote QWERTYmonster] we use for stage directions on MN

As in

[FrothyOM]

Do one billion rising have internet workshops too?

Just thinking money and childcare issues would mean many couldn't attend them.

[StellaCreasyMP]

hi rachel thanks for feedback- I'm sorry if you feel film suggests this as I took the link to be that if we worked together and rise together we can challenge these factors? Would be great if you could get involved in the OBRUK campaign as its designed to empower the people who do to campaign and lead it themselves? think someone else has linked to the events page if you can make a workshop?

@RachelGuildford

Dear Stella

I strongly support initiatives which raise the profile of the prevalence and severity of violence against women globally. However, I am really concerned about much of the imagery and messages contained within the new One Billion Rising film.

In particular, there is a strong suggestion that individual women can always resist violence if they make that choice - which simply is not the reality for the vast majority of women around the world.

Please could you let us know how the UK part of this campaign will develop clear messages and demands of government to ensure that this does not become a one dimensional shock tactic campaign which fails to address the structural inequalities which women face and which frame the violence they experience worldwide.

Many thanks,
Rachel

[StellaCreasyMP]

yes - you will be able to interact with the campaigns online too at the website. We're just developing how best to design the pages to do this- OBRUK is run by volunteers so we don't have the snazziest web pages and if any mumsnet reader would like to help us with it would appreciate it! they should get in touch? [email protected]

@FrothyOM

Do one billion rising have internet workshops too?

Just thinking money and childcare issues would mean many couldn't attend them.

[FrancesMumsnet]

Hello

Here's the link to the One Billion Rising short film for anybody who hasn't seen it,

[StellaCreasyMP]

the mumsnet team and my assistant are laughing at me having to think through tube lines. This is the sort of abuse politicians are subjected to you know!

[StellaCreasyMP]

fearing I've missed quite a few questions- think there are some on wonga and the legal loan shark campaign so would say the campaign is very much continuing! Hope posters will tell the Football Association to end legal loan sharks on merchandise for kids (wonga replica kit for your baby anyone?) and push their MP to support caps on the cost of credit when proposals come back to parliament. There's an amendment due to come before the house of lords on this in october- if you want updates on how you can help the campaign please email me on [email protected] and will add you to our mailing list!

[emcwill74]

...and page 3?!

[JammySplodger]

Thank you for the reply :)

The One Billion Rising gets lots of thumbs up from me, but have you / do you plan to get involved in highlighting DV against men? (having seen it in my extended family it can also get pretty bad).

[JammySplodger]

And has anyone asked what your favourite biscuit is yet?

[StellaCreasyMP]

Anyone who follows me will know Ma and Pa Creasy a big influence- both for and against what I do! they were always challenging me and encouraging me to follow my passions and being schmaltzy I couldn't do what i do without having had the love they have given me (as well as the full frank and free feedback they also offer without being asked on a number of subjects including my sartorial choices, speeches and choices in interior design!) They were always involved in issues in our local area which made me see that it wasn't enough to talk about wanting the world to be different, you had to get stuck in to try to make it so.

Involving people in political change for me is a harder question - there is no magic bullet as I recognise the public don't think we make a difference (and yet its precisely that reason that I think most people from all political parties do it for) at a time when we're facing some very big challenges as a society the need to rebuild that sense that we can together make big choices is all the more important to me- the people I represent in walthamstow don't just need one mp trying to mitigate the problems we have but a society in which we recognise the benefits to everyone of helping each other achieve our potential. Politics at its best is the process that allows us to do that- getting people involved therefore to me isn't about individual politicians but rebuilding a culture in which we want to work together for common causes. On a practical level that means no more boring meetings and speeches to me (I often sit through meetings where I would like to chew my own arm off to leave) and being clearer about how each of us can make a contribution and so make a difference.

@MmeLindor

Hello Stella, welcome to MN.

I've been following you on Twitter for some time (there is no way of saying that without sounding stalkery, is there) and am impressed with both your excellent local engagement and your nationwide campaigning.

Were you always interested in politics, and did your parents foster that interest?

And - how can we get young people interested in politics - especially those whose parents are not politically active.

Btw, do you follow Libdemchild on Twitter?