Webchat with Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, Tuesday 30 May at midday

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello,

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with the leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday 30 May at midday.

Jeremy has been MP for Islington North since 1983, and has been Labour leader since 2015, having been re-elected when Owen Smith stood against him in 2016. Labour’s manifesto for the election on June 8 proposes ‘a Brexit deal that puts our economy and living standards first’, tax rises for the top 5% of earners, the renationalisation of the railways, free school meals for all primary pupils, the abolition of university tuition fees, and a £250 billion investment fund for infrastructure and the economy.

Please do join the chat on Tuesday at midday, or if you can’t make it, leave a question here in advance. Please do share the webchat on social - the more, the merrier!

As always, please remember our webchat guidelines - one question each, follow-ups if there’s time and please keep it civil .

(As we approach the General Election we will endeavour to offer you a balanced diet of webchats with politicians from different parties. More announcements coming soon.)

Thanks
MNHQ

Jeremy

Could you please try and convert Ruth Davidson over to Labour, I and many other Scots would be eternally grateful.

Hi Jeremy

I work in the arts and have found getting back to work following having children incredibly difficult. Pay in the arts is low, work is sporadic and very London centric where living costs have become ridiculously costly. Child care is very expensive and the industry is entirely unsympathetic to balancing a family and work life.

What will you do to help women continue their careers in whatever industry they are in after having children?

Jeremy,

Given that the Brexit "Leave" campaign has been exposed as a fraudulent and economically suicidal work of fiction, why are you still apparently supporting it?

As you express the very legitimate (in my opinion) need to pump more money into education and save the NHS, I'm confused why you'd simultaneously continue to advocate a course of action which the most basic data shows will be the single most economically damaging event this nation has ever inflicted upon itself.

Enhanced spending targets for NHS and Education combined pales into insignificance relative to the financial black hole Brexit will create in the national budget, so I'd appreciate your insight into this matter.

Thank you.

I wanted to ask about the free school meals for all primary children. My school is in a fairly affluent area and most parents I would imagine can afford to provide a meal at lunch time for their children. Will this be a blanket policy or will a set amount of money be allocated to the school to use at their discretion? Schools know themselves where funds would best be allocated surely ?

Hi Jeremy Corbyn,

I am very troubled about Brexit as Theresa May seems to have an awful solution to it 'A no deal is better than a bad deal'. If you cannot get a deal which is the best value for money for the British public, will we remain in the EU?

I feel like many people were cheated in the referendum and many people would change their minds if they were allowed to vote again. This swift departure from the EU will leave us worse off without fail as we will still have to pay a fee to stay within the EU without any of the benefits or room to negotiate that we have now. I feel that it is something that we really have to rethink on or have another referendum. We cannot claim that it was the choice that the majority of the British public made until the British public vote entirely on facts rather than lies.

The EU is such a progressive institution which enables us to work with our neighbors in order to tackle issues such as climate change, inequality, poverty and war - as you know.

So my question to you is, are you committed to ensuring that we have a strong relationship with the EU, even if that means staying in the EU?

Jeremy, you are an inspiration to many, and I have been campaigning for you locally. In my view you are the best candidate for PM I have ever seen in my lifetime. Would you consider going into a coalition if we have a hung parliament ?

I have two questions:

Do you regret referring to Martin McGuinness as a 'great family man'?

Also do you really believe that diplomacy can stop terrorist organisations such as ISIS? And if so, how?

How do you feel your interview on women's hour went ?

I doubt if you'll have time for my question but if you get into power will you do something to the assessment process for ESA/PIP/DLA? At the moment there is a huge number of people being found fit for work despite having life limiting illnesses or profound life changing disabilities who will never be able to work.

I have been through this process a few times and have had to appeal endlessly, fight the system and it's draining both mentally and physically. ATOS are not fit for purpose.

Can you tell us how you envisage our future relationship with Saudi Arabia

MikeWelsh, Labour have already committed to abolishing the income requirements for bringing a foreign spouse to the UK.

Please don't waste time responding to me, I've been a convert since my CLP discussed your entry I to the leadership race (before that it was very lack lustre). I just wanted to say thank you for having the courage to stand against a system that isn't designed to allow variation, where free speech is becoming a thing of the past (www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/29/charities-gag-law-stops-them-speaking-out-tory-social-care-plans if people disbelieve me). Whatever happens next week, my teen sons and their friends, who can vote next time around (16 and 17) have realised change is possible, that in itself is a great thing.

Please could you clarify your current position regarding the CND?

With you all the way on the importance of early years. Every single child deserves a chance.

The EHCP process was introduced in 2014 as a way of ensuring that children with special needs receive the support they desperately need to reach their full potential

In reality it has made it more difficult for children to access support as schools are using generic SEN funding to plug gaps in their budgets, and EHCPs are only being awarded if parents can prove required support will cost more than 6k

For many children that have social and emotional difficulties or mental health issues, the EHCP is not fit for purpose -my child with high functioning autism received no education for 18 months whilst I battled this system

What will the Labour Party be doing to ensure that these children can access education

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Hi Jeremy!!!! JC4PM!

Where is all of the money that you wish to spend coming from?

Jeremy, are you a feminist? (I saw someone else ask it, I want to know too)

foxy the manifesto is costed. Read it or use Google

Hello Jeremy

Like you I'm deeply sceptical about the USA's role in international affairs and am so even more now that Trump is in power. I was sickened by Teresa May's fawning and hand holding the moment he was elected. Do you believe that the state visit should go ahead?

Your manifesto says you are committed to 2% of GDP for defence, but where is it going to be spent?

There's a huge retention and recruitment crisis in the armed forces at present. Just last week 4 of DH's colleagues signed off and every time DS1 comes home he tells me of more of his friends and colleagues who are leaving his regiment.

It seems to be much worse since the New Employment Model was introduced when a lot of personell got pay cuts, most got pay freezes and it's going to be many years before they see any rise, even on promotion. Both you, and Emily Thornberry (who was shadow defence secretary at the time) were deathly silent about this.

There's training exercises being cancelled, weekends, Bank Holidays and leave periods are being dropped at the last minute. Add in the New Accommodation Model that is coming in you can see why morale is so low. How is this going to be addressed?

Jeremy,

Do you think you'll ever play golf with Trump ?

Hello Jeremy

Thank you for joining us

RTKM

Foxy here is a link to the full manifesto costings - www.labour.org.uk/page/-/Images/manifesto-2017/FUNDING-BRITAINS-FUTURE.PDF

Dear Jeremy

I'd like to believe all the wonderful things you've promised would come true and there would be no consequences.

1. How are you going to pay for all this? Don't say by raising corporation tax. Since it's been lowered, the government has made more money year on year corp tax. Basically as the tax was reduced companies invested more, employed more and made more money, which the government got. By putting it back up investment will shrink as will jobs and you'll get less money not more.

Don't say by taxing the wealthy a bit more. All economists agree you'll never get the money that way, only by raising everyone's taxes you will get the money your talking of.

1. You'd said previously you want a maximum salary cap of £150,000, are you still considering this?

This would cause a talent drain to the country with all top medical, legal, science, IT, etc leaving the country, not to mention the death of the premiership football. I understand it's a socialist wet dream but as socialism only works academically, so perfect for robots but not human beings with feelings and needs and desires to strive to be more than what they are told to be.

1. £10 minimum wage sounds great?

But as all companies will have to put prices up to pay for it and a coffee will end up costing £5 or more, in real terms we'll be worse off or the same so how will that work.

1. Security. Will you admit that saying you'll add 10,000 more police is just a stunt and people like the sound of it, but in reality it wouldn't change a thing. Police freely admit more bobbies on the beat doesn't work in the modern large cities and society. More intelligence services are needed. An you confirm your chancellor won't cut mi5 or special branch which we need more than ever and he has said he wanted to Remove