Labour leadership hustings - Webchat with Andy Burnham, Thursday 30 July, 2pm

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

We’re pleased to announce the final webchat in our Labour leadership hustings series. Andy Burnham will be joining us for a webchat on Thursday 30 July at 2pm.

Andy was elected MP for Leigh in 2001. In Government, he was Secretary of State for Health, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He was also Shadow Health Secretary under Ed Miliband’s leadership (and in that role ).

During the heated leadership campaign, Andy has warned that Labour is becoming 'frightened by its own shadow' and has had to fight back against allegations of sexism, due to a row about remarks made by one of his supporters.

Please do join us on Thursday at 2pm if you can, or post a question for Andy here in advance if you can’t.

Labour leadership voting is open until Thursday 10 September and the ballot results will be released on Saturday 12 September.

Thanks

MNHQ

[ImperialBlether]

dorisdog.

[IceBeing]

I think malcolm tucker would be a faster typer no? you could have all the common swearwords as keyboard shortcuts...

[AndyBurnhamMP]

@oddcommentator

Andy

You and the other candidates need to be honest with the electorate. Will you commit to tell the truth about the deficit and national debt?

For the last 9 years of labour government you spent way in excess of what was received.

Will you tell the truth about austerity in that as a country we still spend far more money than we receive - and that government spending under Osborne is still higher than for 8 of the 13 years of Labour?

Will you tell the truth about the total debt which has been dumped on the NHS by your PFI contracts and the massive impact this has had on health expenditure?

Or will you trot out the same populist tosh the likes of Corbyn does - without facing up to the economic reality.

Britain is not a rich country - it has no money in the bank. In fact it is in hock upto its eyes.

Will you also agree that the best way to pay this off is to grow the economy? Not by borrowing more but by encouraging work, encouraging growth and encouraging business and job creation?

Or will you be answering the questions about biscuits rather than this one?

What you do not acknowledge is that in our first term in government Labour ran more surpluses than the Tories in 18 years under Thatcher and Major. Second, you will recall that between 1997 and 2007, Labour ran a strong and growing economy, with rising living standards across the country. Thirdly, we did fix the roof while the sun was shining - the roofs of those schools and hospitals where water was pouring in when we came into government in 1997. Given all this, allowing the Tories to hang the millstone of 'Labour's mess' around our neck was a major mistake.

But if you are to get credit for your successes, you need to be honest about where you got things wrong. I have said in this campaign that the deficit was too high in the middle part of the last decade. Going forward it will be my mission to restore Labour's reputation on the economy and a credible plan to reduce the deficit will be at the heart of that. It will be a balanced plan based, as you say, on growth and tackling wasted spending.

[SolomanDaisy]

I'm trying to decide between you and Yvette Cooper, but frankly I'm worried neither of you are good enough. Will you promise a new election if your ratings are worse than the party's in 2018, as Liz Kendall has?

[ImperialBlether]

FFS was made for Malcolm Tucker.

[HowD]

Anyone know the Dr Who emoji?

[AndyBurnhamMP]

Thanks for all your questions. Sorry I didn't get to answer them all. I'm told that I have to tell you what my favourite biscuit is. But I'm afraid I'm going to depress you all by saying that I don't have a sweet tooth and don't eat biscuits. But give me a beer and chips and gravy any day...

[pastaofplenty]

Can I get a MN prize for having each of my four questions answered by a prospective candidate - go on you know you want to - a JC vest maybe?

[BeyondTheWall]

[TheStandard]

Thanks Andy, good luck. I can't help thinking that all the candidates must be knackered.

[HowD]

[IceBeing]

we could translate many of MT's best hits into MNspeak..

Like: GTFI or FTFO

[IceBeing]

pasta I could get you a free membership of the no-answers/4 club but you may have to sit in the corner by yourself and get glared at all the time.

[HowD]

Weird fact alert. Peter is involved with Potsuk, which is part of the symptom concerns of vaccine damage claims.

[MomentOfWonder]

Can I join the club even though I only managed to ask 3 out of 4 candidates? I fear I may have to start my own club, so in effect not much of a club really...

[pastaofplenty]

Iceberg - it sounds enticing but nah I'm going for the full glory club!

[BeyondTheWall]

Oo, i have pots too. Someone must have hpv jabbed me in my sleep, perhaps?

[IceBeing]

moment I am sufficiently confident that Yvette also would have spurned your question that you may join my club.

[HowD]

It's in our family too. It's only the one who had the HCP vaccine that reacted badly and has CRPS on top of everything else. It's in my opinion, wrong to give it to sensitive girls it does make them worse.

It's s exist not to give the HVP vaccine to boys anyway.

[APlaceOnTheCouch]

Icebeing can I join the club too? No questions answered (except by MNHQ when I asked why JC and LK had to share a chat). I have gin not really but I wish I did

[MomentOfWonder]

Ice I thank you for your magnanimity. Just had to check that was actually a word.

[ilovesooty]

Ah well. I'm still no wiser on Andy's stance on equality and lgbt ivf issues. I can only continue to assume his Catholicism contributed to his voting record.

[Caron2015]

If anyone reads this thread, relates to the questions about the HPV vaccination or suspects their daughter has a new health condition because of the HPV vaccination, please get in touch: Caron - [email protected] or Freda - [email protected]

[BeckerLleytonnever]

YET AGAIN MY QUESTION ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF DISABLED AND THEIR CARERS IS IGNORED.

FFS who the hell can I vote for now?

[BeckerLleytonnever]

HQ- I know these people are pushed for time, but if we bother to ask a valid question, surely they should take half a fucking minute to bloody answer!

half our questions havent been answered, the same ones basically we gave the other labour candidates, why are they sidestepping this?

why bother with all this otherwise?