Webchat with Deputy Labour Leader Harriet Harman MP; THURSDAY 12 FEBRUARY 12-1pm

[RowanMumsnet]

Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman MP will be joining us at MNHQ on Thursday 12 February between 12 midday and 1pm.

Harriet is Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Shadow Deputy Prime Minister. She was first elected as an MP aged 32 when she was 7 months pregnant, and her long-term campaigning interests include gender equality, better maternity pay and conditions, and women-only shortlists.

Come and chat to Harriet this Thursday at 12 midday, or post a question in advance on this thread if you can't make it on the day.

Thanks
MNHQ

Did the Labour Party really say they wanted to talk to women in shops, homes and at the school gate with no mention of women at work or is that just media spin?

@projectbabyweight

The NHS is the biggest issue for me. Without our health we've got nothing.

Harriet - is there honestly a real commitment in the Labour party to halt NHS privatisation?

We don't agree with the Tory/Libdem NHS re-organisation which has wasted £3b and led to fragmentation and privatisation. And we'd put more money in the NHS for doctors and nurses and home carers by bringing in a mansion tax on properties over £2m and introducing a levy on the tobacco companies. Because our health is so important we'd press forward on helping prevent ill health as well....helping people avoid obesity, stop smoking, take more exercise and for the elderly to stay independent in their own homes as long as they can. And early intervention needed to help with mental health problems

What is labour going to do about ensuring the voices of those in a majority conservative constituency are heard? My MP is in a safe conservative seat and my views don't seem to be heard about affordable housing and the cost of child care. I have written several times and not even received a response. What is labour going to do to ensure proportional representation so our voices are not silenced?

caron2015 I don't think they are going to abolish the bedroom tax but I'm happy to be corrected.

i think i might be looking at a different dictionary for a definition of what 'left' means and what 'radical' means.

Also do you consider a household with an income of £42,000 rich? Do you think they can afford to pay £3000 after tax out of that income for the Mansion tax?

This is my first web chat ever. I found it unedifying. HH answered only 5 questions. What a waste on an hour. Come on MN, don't make these dull affairs. Badger the guests to speed up and answer more than a derisory amount of questions.

no no back off with the nanny state stuff - that won't help with elections! people KNOW what healthy eating is and that smoking is bad for them. honestly that's what puts off in the middle voters who might swing to labour if they announce rational, ethical sound policies.

start with the 'we'll nanny people about their personal habits and spend loads of money telling people veggies are good for them' business in a bleak economic time and you might as well quit now.

I have been a lifelong Labour voter but genuinely don't know who to vote for in this election. Labour seem really toothless and this webchat is a bit of a car crash and evidence of that.

The ridiculous pink bus for the ladees is further evidence of the fact they seem to not have a clue about what the country wants, or needs.

Not much point asking a question on here when about 4 have been (not) answered in the past hour. What a shame and a missed opportunity this webchat is

They could have dictated answers to a speed typist (just saying)

Also my first webchat and agree with portico. Absolutely shameful effort and indicative of how the vast majority of MPs treat the electorate with utter contempt.

I'm pretty sure Hugh Dennis managed to answer more political questions during his web chat and he's a comedian by trade, not a politician...

What! Hardly anything has been answered. The disability issue is a huge one and there are more than 1 of us on the thread wanting to know about it (CFSkate we have an illness in common). I'm so disappointed that there was no mention of it at all. Likewise EM hasn't brought it up at all. You could get so many disabled people on side with a decent policy for us but nope, it's being completely ignored.

honestly in an economic climate where apparently we can't afford to pursue men who abandon their children for maintenance or financially support someone dying of cancer we really, really, really do not have the money to spend on patronising advertising about the merits of vegetables.

there is no one alive who hasn't heard the message ffs! sort out their pay and housing and access to maintenance and transport so they can afford to buy vegetables rather than waste millions telling them to suck eggs please.

oh god - that bit has actually made me want to cry in despair.

@Justfivemoreminutesplease

I normally have a passing interest in politics and am finding the current BBC2 programme on the inside workings of the Houses of Parliament fascinating. I feel it's giving the public a real insight into the work of MPs and exactly what they do and how it all works. However, I feel that they still have a huge PR mountain to climb after the expenses scandal and even today the argument over HSBC makes everyone involved look more suited to the playground. Is there anyway back for MPs to regain public trust and respect or is there still a certain arrogance to your role that will never be overcome?

Heard that the BBC2 programme was great and will have to catch up with it! We just have to regain public trust.....and that's hard after the expenses scandal and after the global financial crisis. But I think the way to do it is to make sure that we have MPs from all walks of life, women as well as men, people from all ethnicities and ages/disabilites etc so that parliament is properly representative of people in this country. And that all MPs work really hard for their constituents. Its not just about making great speeches and asking clever questions....its about helping with individual problems and being out there on the doorstep.

It's not like loads of questions were posted ahead of time giving opportunity to read and perhaps prepare some answers.

I wonder if HH wasn't on top form today for some reason... did someone mention she's on the radio in a minute?

With all due respect Ms Harman, from where I look, Labour's rush to fill the void left by the Conservative's panic about UKIP has been a definite swing to the right. Those policies are hardly 'radical'.

You might also want to explain why your proposals for Paternity leave pay offers men twice as much per week as women get in SMP.

A truly 'radical' party would target tax avoiding companies instead of courting them and put maintenance avoiding fathers in jail rather than letting them get away with putting the burden of supporting their children on the tax payers. The CSA and it's successor are worse than useless.

I could go on......

Why am I always left with feeling MP's just say stuff, what can they actually achieve in government without a majority??

The last change in energy came at the costs of green incentives (stupid) instead of fat profit. (We need to renationalise utilities like yesterday!)

Build more homes - how by who?

@portico

This is my first web chat ever. I found it unedifying. HH answered only 5 questions. What a waste on an hour. Come on MN, don't make these dull affairs. Badger the guests to speed up and answer more than a derisory amount of questions.

Oh dear! Sorry to give such long answers. Such important questions I clearly didn't master the knack of knocking off answers in a few words. My typing's fast but clearly not brief enough. Hope they/you will have me on again and I'll be briefer next time!!

MN needs to take lessons learned from this drab web chat to make sure that guests provide a bigger volume of responses. What's in it for posters if the guests have provided Sweat FA responses.

"We don't agree with the Tory/Libdem NHS re-organisation which has wasted £3b and led to fragmentation and privatisation."

Privitisation of NHS started under Labour - see Virgin & others being paid for primary care services !

With all due respect Ms Harman, there were a number of simple 'yes or no' questions that you could have answered very quickly.

That was an excellent performance Harriet.
We learned a lot from you by seeing which questions weren't answered.

Is that it?