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

Hi Jeremy

I'm a long standing Mumsnetter, a party member and have been campaigning for Labour since the 80s. :)
My question is:
Would you consider taking the NHS out of political control with its existence enshrined in law? An NHS run by a combination of business and medics to deliver health services free at the point of delivery and publically funded but free from reorganisation etc for reasons of political dogma.
I also want to beg you to reconsider your decision to mirror Mrs May's attendance at the debates.
Good luck

Hi Jeremy,

I wonder if you and your team have given any serious thought to the accusation that the 'dementia tax' is nothing more than evidence of Philip May (Theresa's husband) exercising his influence in a ploy to release equity from homes to favour his company Legal and General who currently have. Dominating interest in that market? (29%)

You have converted me to Labour for the first time, thank you.

Hi Jeremy,

Wrt the original Tory proposals surrounding healthcare, I'm interested to know why you felt it of paramount importance for the Labour Party to be seen to protect the inheritances of the most well off in Britain, at the expense of the less well off.

don't know why everyones asking questions of as you never give a straight answer to anything -remembering the Sophie Ridge interview-and you ALL make promises you don't keep, just to get the votes.

and I really don't get the love fest going on here.

Oh wait, there is ONE question you'll be happy to answer, the inevitable whats your favourite biscuit one, cos, you know, that's the important one.

Why has your party been so lacking in opinions about brexit? Is it possible to make brexit work for this country or should we have another vote?

Would you be where you are today if you hadn't gone to private school yourself?

Hallo Jeremy
What are you doing for people like me ?
Age 57 , thought I'd be able to retire on a state pension at 60 ,and being self employed haven't managed to get much of a savings pot
My 2 children are at uni now , one graduating this year , what about their student finance ?
Will that be written off ?
Paying my staff £10 an hour ? Any ideas had I can afford that ? Or shall I just give up ?

Well done Mumsnet!

Can I ask if you regret not being a more forceful voice in the Remain campaign?

Clearly the Conservatives brought us to this point, but I feel you didn't try hard enough to stop it.

Hello Jeremy

I'd like to ask why you think Isis are bombing us on the basis of our foreign policy when they have stated that the reason is because they hate the West and our liberal values.

What was it about the Yazidi's foreign policy that caused Isis to to commit genocide against them do you think?

I run a small business, with 5 employees and 2 apprentices. Can you tell me how you will protect small businesses, seeing as part of your policy is to increase the minimum national wage AND corporation tax? I am VERY concerned.

Hi
I'm a long term labour voter and I'm particularly impressed with the 2017 manifesto.
I'd just like to echo a question asked further up re a free press. It's quite clear that the current press is v biased towards the conservatives and any labour leader attempting to increase taxes for the well off will be ridiculed and dubbed 'not leadership material'. Do you see a way of rectifying this situation or do you think the onus is on the general public to dig a little deeper and seek information out?

Also not a question but I also think you should participate in the leadership debate even if TM does not. I think it would make a very strong statement.

I agree that £10 an hour is nonsense. I'm a Teaching Assistant. I earn £8.60 an hour. If my school have to pay £10 an hour they will have to cut the hours they employ us for which will clearly not benefit the children.

Mr Corbyn,

I am an economist, and tragic enough that I work out the finances in election manifestos before each General Election. I am also a swing voter who is a lower rate tax payer.

I'd be very interested to learn
a) why you believe that bonds aren't borrowing
b) what your projected rate of tax revenue is for both corporation tax rises and income tax increases once corrected for capital flight in both cases. (Which we know from the UK and overseas happens in both these examples)
c) what increase in unemployment your projections show resulting from both the rise in corporation tax and the increase in NMW

Thank you for your time: clear and unobfuscated answers to these questions will help many wavering voters - like me -
commit their votes.

Hello Jeremy.

Can I ask you a question regarding your policy on free school meals for all primary children.

Since the introduction of free school meals, pilupil premium funding is down in our school and many, many more ( due to parents nor applying for FSM due to them automatically receiving it). If you are elected, how will you stop the loss of even more of this vital funding?

Hello Mr Corbyn

I would really be interested in your answer to the question raised two posts above by Hefzi please.

Dear Jeremy,

How will you help the disabled of this country fight back against recent injustices?

Like the many who have been affected by autism, I have been shocked and genuinely scared by the news that an NHS trust is even considering 'rationing' autism diagnosis for children. (a couple of threads on here go into detail)

Also the inhumane PIP/ESA/
DLA reforms that have left many without support and caused numerous deaths, what would you do differently?

Sincerely,

A scared and disabled mother.

Also not a question but I also think you should participate in the leadership debate even if TM does not. I think it would make a very strong statement

I would like to add my voice to this. The polls show you are winning people over, that would certainly send a strong message.

I'm also interested to know what labour will do to reform the ESA and PIP benefits assessments and to help sick and disabled people.

YY Snog. My husband is 67 (23 years my senior) and he has his DLA/PIP assessment very soon. He has ischemic heart disease COPD and arthritis.

When the Tories said back in 2013 that the over 65s would be exempt from the DLA to PIP transfer they meant the ones over 65 THEN!

And because people on PIP have to have a repeat assessment every couple of years we are soon going to see people in their 70s being put through it over and over. Unnessacery and inhumane.

A disabled person should not be put through this whatever their age.

70% of families are in poverty and 2/3rds of those are working. I don't see how your manifesto addresses the high cost of childcare which pushes a lot of working families into poverty. I actually see the higher wage increasing the barrier to women returning to work after they start a family. How does Labour plan to address this issue?

Another problem I see when back home is the issue of white children from the bottom two socio economic groups not rising out of the group they were born into. How does Labour plan to address that issue?

Another problem I see when back home is the issue of white children from the bottom two socio economic groups not rising out of the group they were born into. How does Labour plan to address that issue

Read and get a tan?

Want2bSupermum the proposal for £10 NMW is for 2020 when the Conservatives are forecasting a NMW of £9+

Mr Corbyn

Heath and Education have both suffered immense harm under various governments. Would you commit to making Health and Education non-political to protect them?

gold You think it's funny? White males in the lowest socio economic group have the worst outcomes yet I see very little focus on helping this group.

exploded I would be asking TM the same question. I think the NMW is a really bad idea. We should be focus on living standards and not high wages. We now operate on a global basis and a high minimum wage for unskilled labour makes us uncompetitive at the more junior levels of employment.

My previous employer outsources low level work to India that used to be done by junior staff. They now hire significantly less junior staff and the attrition rate once you move to year 4-6 is horrendous. My intake was 100, after 3 years there were 72 of us, after 6 years there is now 35. Intake two years ago was 65 and there are now 37. They haven't even made it past the first promotion cycle. Worst is that management are about to lay off 6 people from that intake because they plan to outsource the work those 6 people would do. Their wages are too high compared to the Indians even though the quality of work done in India is vastly inferior. However funny how on the low salary levels they are paid the Indians I have spoken to manage to support their family to a better standard than my peers are.

Hi JC, I'm a big fan of your work.

Can Labour prioritise people with disabilities to try and repair some of the damage from Tory policy?
Bedroom tax, DLA, PIP and UC changes have put the ones with little to no option of extra income in such a disadvantaged position that food banks, rent arrears and homelessness are no longer the exception.
In Britain in 2017 our sick and disabled can't count on the government.