Webchat with Nicola Sturgeon - 1pm Tuesday, 5th May

[JustineMumsnet]

We’re pleased to announce that Nicola Sturgeon MSP, the First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP, will be joining us for a webchat at 1pm on Tuesday 5 May - just two days before the General Election.

Nicola is the MSP for Glasgow Southside. Before becoming an MSP she worked as a solicitor at the Drumchapel Law Centre. She has the distinction of having been called 'the most dangerous woman in British politics' by the Daily Telegraph (among others).

Whatever your hopes for the outcome of the election, there’s no doubt that the SNP’s surge in Scotland is one of 2015’s biggest stories of this election, with, most likely, big ramifications for UK as a whole.

So we hope you’ll join us and put your questions to Nicola on Tuesday 5 May at 1pm - and if you can’t be there on the day, please post up your questions in advance.

Please remember our webchat guidelines - do be polite/civil, and only one question each please as we reckon this is going to be a busy one!

[YetAnotherHelenMumsnet]

Apologies for the time it's taking, folks. the connection is a bit dodgy and we're getting a lot of hung screens. It's not for the want of trying!

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@Tanaqui

Why do you think it is fair that people in Scotland receive a greater amount of public spending per head than people in England?

Hi Tanaqui, thanks for your question. In 2013, we contributed £800 more per person in tax revenue than the UK average.
And, we want to see a modest increase in spending increase of 0.5 per cent for the whole UK to allow investment in public services: for example, for the NHS it will result in an additional £9.5 billion above inflation across the UK by 2020/21 - £24 billion in total. This will deliver a total increase for NHS Scotland of £2 billion.

[Onlyonejimmy]

No question, but just wanted to say I never in a million years thought I would be an SNP member (not Scottish-born for a start) but like many I joined up the day after the referendum. Fingers crossed for a great result on Thursday.

[hambo]

'we have no proposal for another referendum and there could only ever be one if people in Scotland wanted it and voted for it.'

So now we are going to vote as to whether we want a referendum?
Or do you mean if enough people vote in SNP in this election?

This is not an honest answer.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@hermancakedestroyer

Hi Nicola,

We are a working family with two children under the age of 13. I work around my children ie term time only to avoid paying high childcare costs. My husband and I earn just over the threshold, therefore, in-eligible for benefits but after tax we earn just enough to live from month to month (covering essential costs). However, any extra costs or car repairs, washing machine repairs etc means incurring debts.
I believe that in the past your wage was taxed depending on your marital status / whether you had children but we currently pay as much tax as, for example a single man with no commitments.
It seems that we would actually be better off financially living on benefits but we believe in providing for our children.
How could your party tackle this issue?

Many thanks for your time and giving us the opportunity to ask questions.
Kind regards

Thanks for your question. You raise issues that are very important in this election. We want to raise the minimum wage and get more people on to the Living Wage and in Scotland we are in the process of increasing childcare substantially - over the next Scottish Parliament we want to extend childcare for three and four-year-olds to the same number of hours as children have in primary school.

[OOAOML]

I already have one question - but just to let people know we may contribute more per head, but we also have higher public spending per head. This is appropriate because services have to be delivered to remote areas etc, and reflects levels of deprivation in some areas. It is however very interesting that the SNP only choose to concentrate on the 'pay more per head' and ignore the 'get more spent per head' - I believe the figure is generally accepted at 1,200 more public spending per head.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@happyhighlander

Hello Nicola, I firstly want to congratulate you for being such a genuine, principled and inspiring leader. I hope may more women follow your lead and engage more in politics.

My question - how will the SNP make a significant impact at Westminster and shake things up, as is desperately needed?

Many thanks for your kind wishes happyhighlander – I hope too that more young women engage in politics. It’s why I’m pleased that we’ve made progress on this in the SNP with 36% of our candidates being women standing in this election.
I’m hoping too that they all get elected on Thursday. That will shake things up a bit for a start! The SNP, along with Plaid Cymru in Wales and the Greens, are the only ones offering an alternative to the harsh Westminster cuts agenda. I’m hoping that a strong team of SNP MPs gets elected on Thursday to make Scotland's voice heard and promote an end to austerity and for progressive politics across the UK.
Winnie Ewing had a great way of putting it, that the SNP is not going to Westminster to settle down but to settle up.

[CatWithKittens]

I'd like to know by what right you think you could impose your Party's views on defence, or anything else, on to a nation the great majority of whom would have voted for parties which are in favour of other policies?

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@Littleham

What makes you want to scrap Trident?

Are you worried about losing a major defence deterrent?

Thanks for your question. I oppose nuclear weapons in principle - I think it's wrong to have weapons that at the press of a button could wipe out whole swathes of civilisation. I also think the obsession with Trident sacrifices conventional defences which have been cut in recent years. And in times of constrained resources I believe that if there is £100 billion to spend it should be spent on health and childcare rather than on nuclear weapons.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@hambo

'we have no proposal for another referendum and there could only ever be one if people in Scotland wanted it and voted for it.'

So now we are going to vote as to whether we want a referendum?
Or do you mean if enough people vote in SNP in this election?

This is not an honest answer.

Yes it is. For the avoidance of doubt, no matter how many people vote SNP in this election it will not lead to another referendum. If the SNP was to propose another referendum in a future Scottish Parliament manifesto, people would have to vote for it in sufficient numbers to give the SNP a majority. The SNP can't impose a referendum against the wishes of the Scottish people.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@zen1

Hello Nicola

Do you feel comfortable that the Scottish Sun is supporting the SNP when its partner newspaper in England is supporting the Tories?

The Scottish Sun has a separate editorial team and policy to the Sun in England. I welcome the backing of the paper but the only backing that really counts is that of the voters.

And the SNP is determined to get the Tories out if we possibly can.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@MrsJohnHarrison

Hi Nicola
I'm a long time supporter of the SNP, but currently disheartened at the lack of development in North East Scotland. Yes the AWPR has finally started building, but it seems that past the Central Belt, and certainly Dundee, that very little is done.
The main roads to Inverness for example (A9 & A96) - they are still single carriageway for long stretches.
I live in the Gordon constituency and cannot afford to buy a home. There is virtually no social housing, so my husband and I have to rent a very expensive tiny 2 bed house. We have two DCs, one boy, one girl, they can't share a bedroom forever. We are far from the only family in this situation. A typical 5% deposit here will be around £15k!
It seems that this area is regarded as rich, when in fact not all of us are.
How can an SNP & 'others' coalition change this?
Thanks for coming for a chat on MN.

Thanks for your question. Housing is one of the biggest issues in this election in my view. The Scottish Government invest in shared equity and Help to Buy schemes to help people onto the housing ladder. However, we believe we need to build many more houses and our manifesto proposes a UK-wide house building target of 100,000 affordable homes per year.

[HotCrossPun]

I was at the Women's Pledge event in Glasgow last week. It made me incredibly proud that we have a First Minister who is opening a discussion about VAW & how to tackle it. There were wee girls in front of me craning their necks to get a look at you & hear what you had to say.

Those girls (and mine!) are the future of the country. I'm glad we have somebody like you with integrity & principles to inspire them to be the best they can be.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@TulipsAndSwifts

Hello Nicola and welcome to Mumsnet.

432 individuals own half of Scotland. How would the Scottish Government propose changing this imbalance?

Good luck on Thursday!

Thanks for your good wishes. The SNP will shortly introduce a Land Reform Bill to the Scottish Parliament to ensure that the benefit of Scotland's land is enjoyed by the many not the few.

[Behooven]

OFGS

[bythestairs]

Nicola,
I thought you were doing OK until the answer about the Sun. Come on, have another go. You're not like all the others are you?
Thanks.

[Littleham]

Thanks for the clear reply on Trident.

I'm trying to understand all the parties views on this - pros and cons - as it is such an enormous issue.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@APlaceOnTheCouch

Hi Nicola,

I 'm not a traditional SNP supporter but did join the party after the referendum. I loved how engaged the country became with politics. I didn't see any examples of the culture of fear that other posters have mentioned and I was so proud of the high voter turn-out. Since then I have been very impressed with your commitment to gender equality.

Westminster's long hours are notoriously unfriendly for families. How is the SNP planning to support its female Westminster candidates (with young families) to help them to balance the need to be a viable presence at Westminster with the demands of caring for their own family?

I realise I could also ask this question about male MPs but statistically women still bear the brunt of childcare so it does impact women more. I also think it's integral to any commitment to gender equality that both Westminster and Holyrood consider the issues of childcare, working hours, etc, that act as substantial barriers to women from every class standing as elected representatives.

I’m delighted you’ve joined the SNP. Hopefully locally you’ve been given a warm welcome. I’ve met lots of our 110,000 members out on the campaign trail and love the enthusiasm of new members like yourself.

You raise an important point about workplace culture. That’s why I’ve made family friendly working a priority for the Scottish Government to promote and support employers in all sectors and we’ve put funding into doing that.

But we lead by example and so while politics isn’t great for family friendly hours, we have to make it so. You change culture too by acting from within. So I’m hoping that all of the SNP’s women candidates get elected on Thursday and will help to make the case for change at Westminster. We’ve also got a good number of young male candidates, many of whom also have family responsibilities so I’m sure they’ll help make the case too.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@chocoluvva

Would you agree that the snp manifesto has a lot of aims in common with the green party manifesto?

We agree on some things, but there are important differences too. For example, we think it important that Scotland benefits fully from our natural resources. However, I look forward to working with the Greens and others in a progressive alliance in the House of Commons after the election.

[mamandeouisti]

Just wanted to say thank you Nicola for all that you are doing to make Scotland's voice heard. I'm English but have lived in Glasgow for 16 years and never want to leave! Labour lost my lifelong vote when they stopped striving for the socialism I believe in. The branch-office was just the last straw. The SNP represents a new way of politics in which Scotland's voice can truly be heard and that's why you'll have my vote on Thursday.

I'd love to know what you think your younger campaigning/protesting self would say to you now about your plans to rid us of Trident. I am hopeful that the men in suits will eventually see sense...won over by you.

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@WhyBeHappyWhenYouCouldBeNormal

I [heart] Nicola. Please will you run in London? Why do you think Labour are so afraid of doing a deal with you?

Thanks for your question. I hope nobody in England is afraid of the SNP - there is absolutely no need to be. You don't have to agree with all our policies but I hope people will accept that we want to help change Westminster for the better so that it serves ordinary people across the UK better than it does now. I'm very grateful for all the messages of support I've had from across the UK during this election.

[ComicKittta]

hi Nicola, What is your plan for the future of students? especially mature students like myself. (27)

[NicolaSturgeonMSP]

@prettybird

What do you see as the biggest achievement of your career to date?

(And welcome to the Mumsnet cauldron - there are many more Yes and/or SNP voters than you would think from reading the threads - many of them like me have given up on trying to counter the negativity and instead are concentrating on talking to people in Real Life)

Becoming the first woman First Minister is an enormous privilege.

[Justusemyname]

How do you feel about the fact you come across as power hungry and a bully imo? Not that I expect anyone to think my opinion is important!