Webchat with Alan Johnson, MP and author, Monday 21 November, 9-10pm

[RachelMumsnet]

We’re very pleased to announce a webchat with Alan Johnson MP on Monday 21 November between 9 and 10pm. Alan is the Labour MP for Hull West and Hessle and held a number of cabinet positions in both Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary, Home Secretary and Education Secretary. Alan has joined us a couple of times previously at Mumsnet, most recently in May, to talk about the EU Referendum.

On Monday Alan is coming to chat about his award winning and utterly brilliant series of memoirs, charting his life from his improverished childhood in West London to his days in Parliament; This Boy, Please Mr Postman and the recently published The Long and Winding Road.

Please join us on Monday - to talk to Alan about his memoirs, his life, his thoughts on the out come of the referendum - and anything else. As ever, if you’re unable to join on Monday eve, please post up a question in advance on this thread. All those who join the thread on Monday eve will be entered into a draw to win a signed copy of The Long and Winding Road.

I worked for Royal Mail as a coder at Brighton and remember seeing you there quite often. I have two questions - did you ever think then that you would achieve so much in your career or were you always politically inclined. Also how hard was it to write your life story - did you go it alone or have help?

Hello Alan, I was incredibly moved by your story in This Boy, and was struck by the utter devotion of your mother and your sister in incredibly difficult circumstances. I loved how you mixed storytelling with social commentary (on housing, education, the NHS) in a really persuasive way, which added to the book's narrative rather than got in the way of it. I wondered if there was a particular moment that made you decide to tell your story? And was it easier or more difficult to write your own story rather than a more polemical book, of the kind we usually see from politicians? Thanks very much for your time.

We're sitting in Alan's office setting up for the webchat. He's just gone to vote but should be with us v shortly.

Hi Alan - I have just finished Long and Winding Road and absolutely loved it. I also loved the first two. I've read loads of political memoirs and yours are by far the best written, the most gripping and the most human. So thank you.

My question is this - reading about your time in Government reminded me of the many things achieved by the then Labour Govt. That legacy seems to have been well and truly forgotten now in the public's consciousness. Why do you think that is and do you think there is anything that can be done to resurrect it or is it lost for good?

Many thanks to Mumsnet / Corgi Books for a copy of 'This Boy' by Alan Johnson. I have yet to complete reading the book, but what I've found so far is a well-crafted, emotionally-driven memoir. Looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. I’m sure to get a hold of ‘Please Mr Postman’, too.

I'd like to ask Alan a few general questions, if I may ......

QUESTION ONE:- MP’s are often under immense scrutiny. How difficult was it to share so much of your personal experiences, and was there a lot that you omitted for fear of being judged?
QUESTION TWO:- With Donald Trump’s recent victory, what do you feel will be the one good thing and the one bad thing that will change most in US-UK relations?
QUESTION THREE:- How would you feel about one of your books being optioned for film or television?

Thank you for my copy of 'Please Mr postman ' mumsnet which I'm really enjoying.

I'm impressed by all the small details that you include. My question to Alan is did you keep a diary as a boy and/or as a young man?

We're sorry but Alan is going to be a few minutes late. He's gone to vote in Parliament and there are 3 divisions back to back - he shouldn't be any longer than 10 mins.

Thank you for my copy of 'Please, Mister Postman'. It is an enjoyable and educational read - I was a 70s child so relate to many of the social references you describe.

My question is in your varied political career to date, is there one campaign either from your government or union work where you felt you were able to make a real difference?

Having enjoyed This Boy, I was delighted to win a free copy of Please Mr Postman which I'm hoping to finish this evening.

I have two questions, the first is personal - do you regret not being more involved in family life and leaving Judy to shoulder all the responsibility?

My second question is political - do you think recent events will all come good in the end? Can we take hope from the fact that younger voters were Remainers and anti-Trump?

Hi Alan, I have seen the documentary Posh and Posher. I just feel sad how elitist is our society. How can we improve social mobility in our country?

Alan's now here and ready to answer your Qs.

Hi, I'm here. Sorry to keep you waiting. Voting on the higher education and research bill. No votes til 10pm. All yours until then.

@SirChenjin

Really enjoyed listening to your interview on Steve Wright recently - fascinating stuff

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the NHS (as a current employee in Scotland). What do you think you did well/not so well, and what do you see for its future? (OK, that's 3 questions...)

What we did well was to bring the funding of the NHS up to the European average (9% of GDP). That huge increase in resources meant more doctors, nurses and ancillary staff. We raised the pay of NHS staff, who were scandalously underpaid -- but our greatest achievement was to stop people dying on waiting lists that were two years long, and improve healthcare outcomes in every discipline.

@iseenodust

House of Lords The Economics of HS2 (March 2015) "Prioritisation

1. The evidence we have heard suggests that investment in regional transport links between cities outside London could be more likely to generate significant growth in the north than HS2. The Government should consider whether improving trans-Pennine links, or building the northern legs of HS2 first, are higher priorities than the southern leg of HS2.

Q. In the light of the above, what do you think is the way forward for improved transport connectivity, speed & associated economic benefits for the regions, and in particular the Humber area given the decision this week to cancel the electrification of the Hull rail line?

ps For southern MNers we have overcrowded trains up here too (and not Corbyn-style full).

We have to connect with HS2 so that it becomes more than just a link between London and Manchester and improves rail services throughout the country. The three Hull MPs haven't given up on electrification of the line from Selby to Hull. To us, that's part of the connectivity that's vital if HS2 is to succeed.

Hi Alan, This Boy prompted me to join the party and get deeply involved - it's been quite a rollercoaster! So many of my personal highs and lows over the past 2 years are your fault

I have no particular question for you (or at least nothing you could answer in public). But what question would you most like to ask, and to who?

@Stillnoidea

Is there any hope for modern day politics, post brexit and trump?

Yes. To think otherwise is to give in to a counsel of despair. My mother's generation went through far worse in terms of the international political dimension. It needs those opposed to Trump, Farage and the politics of division and anger to stand firm and argue our corner. One day the tide will turn.

@Cocolepew

Hi Alan, in your first book you write about your love of music and your groups. Do you still enjoy music today? Do you listen to new music or mostly older stuff? Also do you still play the guitar? Really enjoyed your book , your sister Linda is an inspiration .

Thanks, I agree about my sister who has lived in Australia for over 30 years and has just retired. Yes, I still listen to music. I 've never got bogged down with Dire Straights greatest hits and current favourites are The Jay Hawks, Everything Everything, the 1975s, and Laura Marling.

I play guitar, infrequently, and not very well these days.

@HappydaysArehere

Loved your books. This Boy was wonderful. It referred to places I knew, especially the references to your grandmother's home in Sutton Buildings. I grew up in Sutton Buildings in Elystan/Cale Street, Chelsea. The layout as you described it in your grandmother's flat was the same. They were all modernised over the years and my parents continued to live there. Unfortunately, the Trust who owned them was taken over by a Housing Association. Despite protests, these are going to be turned into luxury homes for the wealthy! Like so many, we really regreted your withdrawal from the cabinet. The Labour Party needs you but we look forward to your input on important issues. We wish you well in whatever you decide to do.

Thanks for your lovely comments. The thing I remember most about Peabody buildings was the bath in the kitchen, with wooden slats that you could put across to turn it into a work surface. They were the height of luxury in their day. Such a shame that they're no longer available to those who were desperately seeking good housing when the Peabody estates were built.

@Belo

Thank you for my copy of 'Please Mr postman ' mumsnet which I'm really enjoying.

I'm impressed by all the small details that you include. My question to Alan is did you keep a diary as a boy and/or as a young man?

Glad you're enjoying the book. Yes, I kept a diary from the age of 25. I didn't refer to it much in writing Please, Mister Postman but it was useful to check the odd date and fact. I still keep a page-a-day diary but there are long gaps.

Ooo! Thanks for answering my Q. (Blatant effort to get in draw for signed book).

Alan , Can we put to you the questions from Mumsnet HQ that we always put to our authors?

Which childhood book most inspired you?

What was the last book you gave someone as a gift?

What was the best book you have recently read?

And finally can you describe the room where you write your memoirs?

@ChinUpChestOut

You were one of the beneficiaries of the NHS, council housing and grammar schools and partly because of this were able to access and develop your potential. What do you think of the life chances of today's young in the UK, who might also live with a broken family, in sub-standard housing, in a school that doesn't send many (if any) to university? Do you think this government, or any future government will offer them the same access to opportunities that you had? Or were you just lucky, 'right place, right time' (right generation) and that time will never come again? A beneficiary of a system that was funded by a true desire for a better world post WWII, and of course, by high taxation. (Loved your books, by the way - you're an inspiration).

Please Mister Postman demonstrates how I benefited from a secure job, a council house and a union to protect my interests. As you allude to, these are all things that have diminished to one extent or another. A grammar school didn't do much for me and that cruel test, aged eleven, consigned 80% of the children I went to school with to the dreaded local secondary moderns. Also, to stay on the optimistic side, only 4% of youngsters went to university when I was a kid; now it's something like 45% and those opportunities have improved for all social classes, including the working class. Glad you enjoyed the books.

I've enjoyed reading your books and the photos were a lovely touch. In This Boy, you only refer to your parents as Steve and Lily. Why did you choose to refer to them in this way? As a politician in opposition it would be easy to decry policies passed by the Government of the day because they didn't go far enough to help those in need but when you were in power, did you find it difficult, coming from a background of poverty yourself, to vote for party policies that you didn't think went far enough or did you sometimes have to reconcile your beliefs for the"greater good"?

@purplepandas

Who is your current inspiration? I am just starting your early book, looking forward to getting more stuck in.

Presuming you mean in literature, it's Elizabeth Strout, whose book, Olive Kitteridge, is the one I've enjoyed most this year.

@smearedinfood

What's your take on Ed Balls doing Strictly Come Dancing?

I'm really rooting for Ed, as it seems is half the population. I guess he'd rather be delivering the Autumn Statement than be dancing this Saturday, but it's great fun -- and maybe another occasion when the outsider confounds the pollsters and the experts by winning the popular vote.