Webchat with John McDonnell MP, Shadow Chancellor, Tuesday 18 September at 11am

[JustineMumsnet]

We’re very pleased to announce a webchat with the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, this Tuesday 18 September at 11am.

John has been Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. Born in Liverpool, he studied at night school while working before going to university. He went on to work as a union official and in local government at the GLC and at Camden Council. He campaigned for Jeremy Corbyn to win the Labour leadership in 2015 and has been Shadow Chancellor since then.

He describes his vision for the UK economy as ‘socialism with an iPad’, centred around research, investment and ‘alternative forms of ownership and control’ such as nationalisation, co-operatives, and locally-owned enterprises. He has proved a controversial figure in some quarters, with particular attention paid to his 2003 remarks about the IRA, for which he apologised. He has described Labour’s anti-semitism row as a low point, and has been quoted as saying ‘we have got to sort this out’.

Please do join the chat on Tuesday at 11am, or if you can’t make it, leave a question here in advance.

We’re expecting this to be a busy webchat, so only existing Mumsnet users are able to post on this thread. Apologies to anyone new who can’t post - please stick around, we’ve got lots of other things coming up

As always, please remember our webchat guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered and please keep it civil. Also if one topic is overwhelmingly dominating a discussion with a guest, mods might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

Many thanks.

The thing for me about our democratic system (I've said this before and I will say it again) is that a system with two main parties, with only one capable of being elected at the moment, isn't a very valod democracy.
For goodness sake in a supermarket there is a huge range of different biscuits, for example, yet our democracy is meant to represent a myriad of different interests with a choice of two?
Utterly ridiculous. The system we have is there to support elite/ business interests and the rest of us can go swing...

Sorry, but there was nothing of any substance from this 'chat' with Mr McDonnell.

Two serious issues here.

A)

When pressed to name a woman from history who inspired him, he obviously had to choose his mum.

He has the entire history of humanity to choose from, and he chooses the woman who raised him. I'm sure his mum is lovely and all but this makes me seriously suspect that he doesn't actually know or respect the achievements of women. Does he seriously think he can just blurt out 'my mum' because he's speaking to Mumsnet?! It's so patronising!

B)

He shamelessly evaded the issue of transgenderism despite being asked directly and seriously about it multiple times. Saying that he wants to "engage effectively" means nothing to me - it is just waffle from another spineless politician willing to cave in to a bunch of aggressive men in lipstick and high heels.

We all know that Corbyn is a bit of a joke, but this man is supposed to be the serious one in the party. And yet he thinks he can get away with this kind of patronising and dishonest attitude.

No thanks.

His mother obviously agreed with him being assigned male at birth.

So at the age when most people retire, 67, John is hoping to be part of a government that will take the UK and Northern Ireland into greatness beyond Brexit.

Seriously? What qualifies him to do this?

This mantra from Labour and Tory politicians about "we must respect the Brexit result" - I know I'm not the first person to point out that this concept requires Labour not to oppose the current govt at all until the next election happens on the grounds that the Tories won and we "must respect the result".

I’m sure his Mum was absolutely fabulous, but how many people when asked about male role models reply with their Dad.
It is a cop out and it leaves me wondering he be actually knows of any really inspiring female role models. Has he tried to find out about any. And if not, does he not see that as an issue.

Exactly what I was thinking.

James Kirkup (usually an astute commentator on TG issues) has just written a strickingly obtuse blog on this
link

Suzanne Moore has tweeted about this thread and says that Mumsnet scrutinise politicians more than anyone else. It’s so ridiculous that this is true, and that there are so few good politicians or interviewers.

sorry STRIKINGLY

@Vicky i also dont this mantra, the tories won the 2015 GE but 2 years, unhappy with the "Will of the People" had another one!!!

And unlike in a GE, where there is an opposition, we 16million have no representation.

Ladies, ladies!! What's wrong with you all?

John loves his mum and wants everyone to be friends and share broken biscuits.

What a sweetie, he hit all the things that matter to me.

Hmmmm. He is publicly stating that he's met with WPUK. That's a major first for the Labour party and something transactivists will have a (not positive) view on. I agree about the pointlessness of 'engaging effectively' but it's worth remembering that it's only in recent weeks that the toxic nature of the paedophiles and sex fetishists sheltering under the umbrella are being openly discussed in the press. At least he's not parroting TWAW like some of the Tories.

scepticalwoman, that is very true.

Caroline Lucas was vilified on twitter, and added to the infamous TerfBlocker for saying she would meet with WPUK. Just meet with them! To talk.

That's #NoDebate for you.

Although, unfortunately, an awful lot of Labour MPs also parrot TWAW.

I had Rosa Luxembourg odds on for top woman.

I love my mum, she's brilliant. But so are these women, a mere drop in the ocean of brilliant women. Just like me and just like my mum.

Anne Boleyn

Mary, Queen of Scots

Jane Austen

Mary Wollstonecraft

Millicent Fawcett

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Barbara Kingsolver

Angela Merkel

Am I missing something? Nary a peep about it on his twitter?
twitter.com/johnmcdonnellMP

Zoe at the Guardian seems to have been watching a different webchat entirely. Although we have picked up a new name: "A splenetic and righteous crowd"!

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/18/john-mcdonnell-mumsnet-power-shadow-chancellor

Thanks for sharing the JK article FloPen I agree with it and JMD did extremely well here in a very difficult environment.
I've always found him to be calm and a positive thinker.
THANKS JOHN
And MNHQ for hosting this interesting webchat

Wow that Guardian piece completely misrepresents this thread !

Mary Queen of Scots! You've got to be kidding. Possibly winner for the worst queen competition.

As did the jk article

Bloody hell, to think I used to rate Zoe Williams as a journalist once.

So those answers in full:

Brexit: waffle waffle waffle people voted waffle waffle.

Self ID: I'll consult with everyone...

The Economy: We costed it all in full in our manifesto.

Anti-semitism: Of course it's important that we listen to Jewish people about their experiences. [what, the way you've been listening so far, you mean?]

On previous comments on violent protest, especially in the context of Rees-Mogg's children getting verbally harassed: Waffle, we must all be nice, sometimes I say things as they are...

On past enthusiasm for terrorist organisations: [Crickets]

But, hey, I love my mum. And I can weave her into a Monty-Python-esque anecdote about how we only ever got the broken biscuits, which must be good for a few sympathy votes.

Forget Williams, I want to see what Michael Deacon (Torygraphs' parliamentary sketch writer) would make of this thread.

Zoe struggles weekly with getting fit in her forties; it's pathetic reading. And. Not. Funny.

Mary, Queen of Scots was so much better than Elizabeth I. I'm neither Scottish nor English.

Just saying.

So we are all happy with a 67 year old taking us into a new era in British politics?

Regardless of their sex?