Webchat on women and politics, with Nicky Morgan, Jo Swinson and Gloria De Piero: Tuesday June 24, 1pm

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello



Hopefully lots of you will have seen coverage of our political culture survey over the weekend.

We asked 1200 of you what you thought about Westminster culture, and overwhelmingly you told us that you think that it's sexist, it's not family-friendly, and that to get on in politics you have to be ruthless, ambitious, rich, well-connected and - last but not least - male.

You also told us that you think the political culture in Westminster doesn't lead to politicians being able to take effective decisions about policies that will change people's lives for the better. And you told us that most of you (around two-thirds) would never consider standing for political office.

We're going to be having a webchat on Tuesday at 1pm to discuss the findings with the women's ministers/shadow minister from the three main parties:

Nicky Morgan is the Conservative MP for Loughborough, and is the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Women's Minister

Jo Swinson is the Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire, and is the Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and the junior Equalities Minister

Gloria De Piero is the Labour MP for Ashfield and Shadow Minister for Women and Equality.

Please join us on Tuesday at 1pm - and if you can't make it then, as ever, please post up any comments or questions in advance.

Thanks
MNHQ

STOP PRESS - DO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS RATHER FABULOUS VIDEO OF NICKY, JO AND GLORIA

[JoSwinsonMP]

@AndHarry

I'd love to work towards standing as an MP but am totally put off by the crazy working hours. Do you think it would be a good idea to have more normal working hours and holidays?

Being an MP is undoubtedly more of a vocation than a job – if you didn’t feel really passionately about the people, issues and changes you are working for it would be pretty impossible I think given what it requires of you.

There have been moves towards more sensible hours when Parliament sits – for example last year Parliament brought its Tuesday sittings forward to 11:30am – 7pm (it used to be 2:30pm – 10pm), so now Monday is the only night when you’re still voting at 10:30pm (the late start on a Monday enables people to travel to London from around the country). The workload is still intense but at least that change has given a bit more flexibility – though there are certainly plenty of MPs who want to go back to the late night sittings.

Personally I don’t see why Parliament couldn’t start earlier in the day on a Tuesday or Wednesday and be a bit more in line with the usual working day. However the nature of the job means you have to live in 2 places (unless your constituency is close to London) so it’s always going to be a slightly odd working pattern.

Though the suggestion about jobshares by Quivering is an interesting one that could also be part of the solution to this issue. I think it’s an interesting idea that needs to be looked at more seriously for politics – perhaps with some kind of pilot.

The other thing we need to look at is the working hours in order to become an MP in the first place. Candidates are volunteers, so typically holding down another job at the same time. It’s right that candidates should spend time out and about speaking with the voters they want to represent, but we need to look at what parties can do better to support them so that all of the responsibility for the campaign doesn’t just fall on the candidate’s shoulders, and they have a good team around them.

[GloriaDePieroMP]

@JoSwinsonMP

[quote JugglingFromHereToThere]
Going into schools to talk with youngsters sounds a very good and rewarding thing to do Nicky.
Jo and Gloria, do you both find and enjoy similar opportunities to encourage our young people to engage with politics?
My daughter is on our city's Youth Council BTW, and keen to speak up for things she feels need changing

Yes, one of my favourite parts of the job is going into schools and speaking with young people about politics - and far from apathy I often find a fair bit of enthusiasm for a wide range of issues. Too often politicians can take the view that young people don't matter until they are 18 and can vote - this is ridiculous. I take the view that I represent people whatever age they are and children are just as entitled to bring their concerns to me as adults. I think I was 10 when I first wrote to my MP...[/quote]

hi there, going into schools and listening to students is one of the most rewarding parts of the job. it's much more important to answer questions and listen rather than give a big speech. i once asked a group of 14/15 year olds from a school in my constituency to describe what an MP looked like and even though i was standing right in front of them - the first answer back was 'an old bald man'. And actually there are more bald men in the Cabinet than there are women! We have a way to go.

[JoSwinsonMP]

@JugglingFromHereToThere

I know I've butted in to the discussion quite a bit already - perhaps I should go into politics - but as a follow up question to Jo's points ...

What do you all think of lowering the voting age to 16?

I think this would be a great idea to engage young people in politics whilst discussions on voting intentions could still be included within say citizenship studies in the Sixth form. My dd (aged 15) also thinks it would be a good idea and they've discussed it on the City Youth Council she's on.

I agree with votes @16 and it is Lib Dem policy - sadly not something the current Coalition Government was able to agree on as our Conservative colleagues are not keen. I do believe it will happen at some point though. 16 and 17 year olds are voting in the independence referendum in Scotland in September.

[plinkyplonks]

What plans do you or your parties have to improve the image of women in the media? It seems the focus of some media outlets is still very sexist - with articles focusing on what a woman is wearing, her attractiveness, her age, trying to label women as unstable, needy, bossy etc when they express a different point of view..

[NickyMorganMP]

@brandnewinformation

Hi Nicky, Jo and Gloria - what's the most sexist thing that's happened to you in Parliament?

One of the things I noticed about the survey was the 90% of mumsnetters believed the political culture in Westminster to be sexist. I have to say I have never encountered any issues at all - except once to be told that being an MP meant sometimes having to work long hours (when my husband was in London for a meeting and I was due home to take over childcare and suddenly the Commons was sitting late that night so I complained to the Chief Whip) - I told the MP in no uncertain terms that I knew all about long hours from my previous jobs - including being a Mum!

[JoSwinsonMP]

@CarolineWheatley

Do you think that party politics incentivises politicians to act in the short-term interests of their own progress in the party and not in the long-term interests of the population as a whole?

What would you change (whether you agree or not with the above there must be something) to increase the incentives to act for the greater good in the long term?

Well one drawback of our democratic system is that elections every 5 years do encourage short-term thinking, even if it is motivated by the desire to do long-term good – in order to implement your long-term objectives you still need to win elections in the short-term. But as I think Churchill famously said, democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others which have been tried!

I think on many long-term issues like climate change, or pensions reform, you need to try to build cross-party consensus so that you can still make positive changes for the long-term even though the parties in government will change.

[southwest1]

Gloria, you said you prefer asking written questions than oral. Given that PMQs and all Departmental questions are made up of about 80% of questions drafted by SpAds isn't it time we stopped this and had proper oral question sessions where the questions aren't known in advance?

[GloriaDePieroMP]

@NickyMorganMP

[quote Quivering]
I'd be interested to hear what you think about jobshares for mps as a way to bring more women into politics? Or if you have any other suggestions yourselves?

I have been thinking about this - my initial instinct is that this wouldn't work because to do the job of an MP well you need to do both constituency and Westminster work. But then in my former life a solicitor I worked with two women who did a job share in a stressful corporate environment so maybe it would. I do think that, like any other work place flexible working, including job shares, should be considered. I do wonder what the electorate would make of having to vote for two people for one role?[/quote]

actually NickyMorganMP is right - nothing should be ruled out. some businesses are doing great work on flexible working. Timewise have a part time power list which is worth a look at - for example Unilever have a job share for their Global Category Strategy Director. what do Mumsnetters think? would you consider being a job share MP and would you vote for a job share MP?

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Strange if the tories were against it Jo (lowering voting age to 16)

It really seems a bit of a no-brainer to me, especially given the problem of the relatively low turnout at elections, particularly among the younger generation.

[NickyMorganMP]

@WestmorlandSausage

my one question (although I have many!)

Which party do you think will be the next to have a female leader or female chancellor of the exchequer?

Very hard to tell although not sure it will be the Lib Dems (sorry Jo!) - but there are lots of good candidates on all sides of the House

[JoSwinsonMP]

@JustOneCube

The stats in the MN miscarriage campaign were pretty shocking - as were lots of MNers' stories about the care they received - will you commit to a manifesto pledge to improve miscarriage care in next parliament please?

I agree, I saw that recently and thought having to wait for a scan for so long in those circumstances must be incredibly distressing. I'd be keen to find out more about why that is the case - is it policy / how care is organised / resources - and look at how we can then put some solutions in place.

[plinkyplonks]

Just add to the above - it seems like women are held to a different standard in the media. Maybe that discourages women from entering politics because of the very public scrutiny they will receive not because of your policies and ideas but instead criticisms about you appearance, age, family life, mental state etc.

[JoSwinsonMP]

@orangeone

1. PMQ - really what's the point? A bunch of children booing and jeering at each other in a way that I spend most of my day encouraging my pre-schooler not to do?

1. Do you think that politicians should have limited terms in office? This reduces 'career politicians', ensures that they have to do a 'normal job' at some point so can represent the general population better, and may specifically open the doors to more women (perhaps being more family friendly as to serve in parliament becomes something you do for a limited time so can cope with crazy hours?

I quite agree on PMQs, as per my reply to badooby above. I’m not sure about limited terms – it can reduce a politician’s effectiveness in their final term as we often see with US Presidents.

The average time someone serves as an MP is only about 9 years, so even though there are a few who serve for a long time, there is quite a turnover of MPs at each election. It can be useful to have some people there who have longer experience in Parliament itself, as well as others who bring a fresh pair of eyes to problems.

[Frances5050]

Thank you so much for the webchat Nicky Morgan, Jo Swinson and Gloria De Piero and Mumsnet!

[GloriaDePieroMP]

@JustOneCube

The stats in the MN miscarriage campaign were pretty shocking - as were lots of MNers' stories about the care they received - will you commit to a manifesto pledge to improve miscarriage care in next parliament please?

hi JustOneCube, we all know someone who's had a miscarriage and the emotional and sometimes physical agony that comes with that. Mumsnet have done a done a lot to raise this issue with politicians and i'm glad that andy burnham will be talking to mumsnetters tomorrow on what we can do to make sure women get the treatment and care they need

[Darkesteyes]

The reason I mentioned psychological assessments was because some of the current policies (IDS springs to mind) strike me as sociopathic.

[NickyMorganMP]

@woeface

Can I ask all of you what you think of the Rebekah Brooks/Andy Coulson phone-hacking verdict?

Should we be worried about the 'cosy' relationship between political parties and some sections of the media? And what needs to be done to make sure that only those whose probity is unimpeachable get close to power in the future?

Well, the PM has made a full apology for employing Andy Coulson and I think he previously said that at times the relationship did get too close. I think it is incumbent on all of us in elected office to uphold the highest standards at all times.

[JoSwinsonMP]

@NickyMorganMP

[quote WestmorlandSausage]
my one question (although I have many!)

Which party do you think will be the next to have a female leader or female chancellor of the exchequer?

Very hard to tell although not sure it will be the Lib Dems (sorry Jo!) - but there are lots of good candidates on all sides of the House [/quote]


You may be right Nicky...
My guess is probably Labour (Yvette Cooper). Though Nicky is a Treasury Minister… who knows what the PM has in store for her?

[JoSwinsonMP]

@Peacocklady

I would like to ask each of you whether you have faith in your party leaders.
When they were all photographed holding the Sun newspaper and smiling it seemed that their main priority is getting votes. Why did they do that?
Where is their conviction? Who is going to stand up for a creative education? Who is going to speak up for the poor?

I do. I think Nick is doing a difficult job incredibly well. He has absolutely championed the importance of education as a route out of poverty – he has made sure that the Government is investing billions extra in the Pupil Premium which channels extra money to schools with the poorest pupils, and now extending that to nursery education too.

[NickyMorganMP]

Dear mumsnetters - I am signing off now as I have to go and do a quick video for MN Towers and then back to meet a delegation of women MPs from Sudan. Thank you for all the questions - am looking forward to having more time to read the posts and will reply on the miscarriage question too.

[JoSwinsonMP]

@charlieandlola

At least two of you are mothers to under 5's , am I right ? An MP seems incompatible with family life.?
My friends husband is an MP and they rarely have a weekend when he is home uninterrupted and then Sunday night to Thursday he is in London.
School holidays he is at home but often travels abroad and around the country. They had to fly back last summer from their only holiday week in France as MPs were summoned home.he has missed all his kids birthdays for the last 4 years. They get shouted at in the street and their eldest is being bullied at school because of his dad's job.
I expect his wife to leave him shortly as she feels utterly abandoned and tells me that he is a virtual stranger to her.

Is this a true representation or is she making it all up ?

It all sounds grim and if true then why would women put themselves through that, abandon their family to be shouted at on Newsnight, jeered in the chamber and abused in the street and online ?

I’m really sorry to hear about your friend and especially her child being bullied – that’s really horrible and whatever people think of MPs, their family are not fair game. Obviously I don’t know about that specific situation, but there are certainly elements I recognise from my own experience.

As an MP I don’t tend to get weekends off, and representing an area just north of Glasgow it does mean a lot of travel (and I now have the joys of doing that with a baby in tow… though now that I have had the flight from hell with a 1.5 hour delay on the tarmac and an inconsolable baby I’m hoping it can’t get worse than that!)

As to whether it is incompatible with family life, part of me wants to say ask me in a few months’ time, as I return to my Ministerial duties this coming Monday following 6 months of maternity leave. But I refuse to accept that it is incompatible – we just can’t have a Parliament that is supposed to represent the public and understand the challenges people face, and then make it impossible for MPs with young children to do the job. I don’t pretend to have all the answers about how to make it work, but I’m determined to find them! Wish me luck…

[GloriaDePieroMP]

@plinkyplonks

What plans do you or your parties have to improve the image of women in the media? It seems the focus of some media outlets is still very sexist - with articles focusing on what a woman is wearing, her attractiveness, her age, trying to label women as unstable, needy, bossy etc when they express a different point of view..

hi plinkyplonks, i think you're right and i think this can put many women off coming into politics. i asked Yougov to do some polling for me on why people didnt want to become MPs. over a third of women said 'because of the press going through my private life and past'

[JoSwinsonMP]

@MrsRTea

My question is to Gloria: Can I have an owl?

And is there any chance of an Eagle?

I was very glad that was a hoax tweet by Labour’s press office. My niece (nearly 4) is a big fan of owls. She has even made up her own owl song involving them doing star-jumps - I don’t want her cheering on my main opponent in East Dunbartonshire thinking that she’d get an owl..

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Hooray! - a mention for nursery education, thanks Jo

The early years are so important as a foundation for life learning, for support for families, and in their own right

Save our Children's Centres too - they are much needed

[GloriaDePieroMP]

thanks mumsnetters for your points and questions. i could easily have spent another hour doing it but my time is up. sorry if i haven't answered your question but i promise to look back over all the thread later. remember if you have thoughts on how we should change how parliament works email me on [email protected] with mumsnet in the subject heading and i promise to forward your ideas to the Speaker.