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.

What's your favourite biscuit?

My question is how do you think the Labour party can engage with the working class again.

Most people I know where staunch labour supporters for generations but feel like the party no longer represents them and are too busy arguing between themselves.

John, I recently resigned from the party because of the Labour stance regarding women.

Although the party make all the right policy noises around women's rights, if self-ID is legally ratified, it will effectively redefine the legal meaning of 'woman'.

This will, in turn, permanently affect women's ability to fight our oppression at the hands of the Male sex class, as our rights and protections will become too diluted to be effective.

You seem like a decent chap, but do you truly understand what a fundamental issue this is for women?

At the Labour Party conference in 2017 you said "we will ensure every piece of legislation will be measured against its impact on women before implementation". This is to be welcomed. However, the enormous impacts on women and girls of allowing males to claim to be women has not been assessed in the Labour Party. Why has the Labour Party adopted the policy of self-identification with no discussion, debate or assessment on the impacts on women? When will this assessment be done?

Many women are very troubled by the labour party's approach to transgender self id and proposed changes to the gender recognition act. The phrase 'trans women are women' constantly being promoted by Dawn Butler makes many labour voting women feel that the party no longer represents us.

Why is labour supporting this?
Do you not feel troubled that male bodied paedophiles and rapists are being imprisoned alongside vulnerable women?
Are you not concerned that male bodied people (80% of transwomen want to keep their penises) now dominate the labour policy decisions on women?
How can we understand sexism if we lose the distinction between women, and male bodied people who 'believe' they are women?
Do you understand that data on social issues affecting women will be completely distorted if transwomen (who are born and raised as men and treated very differently from women in society) are recorded as women in the stats?
Can Dawn Butler be replaced by someone more intelligent?

Dear John, Thank you for popping into Mumsnet Towers to speak to us.

Do you agree that it's rather hilarious that here you are having the opportunity to show how lovely and fluffy you are when actually the stereotypical middle-class Mumsnetter is exactly the kind of person that you despise and that your policies would aim to punish.

What a laugh!

test

John, the increasingly violent rhetoric used by politicians and political activists of all sides is a significant factor in deterring women from entering politics. Do you ever regret past comments such as encouraging an audience to "lynch" a female MP, or saying that it should be safe for Tory MPs to walk the streets and will you commit to a more civil mode of discourse in the future?

Are there any particular women in history you look up to?

Many of Labour's policies, like all the other parties, are sex blind. This is exacerbated by a lack of proportional representation for women as MPs and the erosion of women-only shortlists.

Women have been massively disadvantaged by previous Tory and Labour austerity policies plus gross failures of the justice system to hold male perpetrators to account for crimes committed against women for example rape, coercive control and stalking.

What is there in place in Labour's policies to rectify this targeting of women plus prevent them from being disadvantaged again by sex blind policy implementation?

Dear John,

You and your party are against privileged young people receiving any help that a poorer, less well connected person wouldn't get. I agree. Opportunities should be based on what you know, not who you (or your parents) know.

How do you square that with employing Jeremy Corbyn's son as your Chief of Staff? Andrew Murray's daughter and John Prescott's son have done quite well out of nepotism too. I don't know if you have any children but it wouldn't surprise me if they've had a Labour-Leg-up too. How is OK for you as a party to act like this when you see it as an abominable practice?

John, I'm a Labour party member who's in despair.

The outside world - all my 'liberal' friends - see us fiddling with internal stuff while Rome burns. For this reason they do not consider us fit for government - it confirms every prejudice they have about the weakness of Corbyn's type and generation.

Our line on Brexit is killing us out there. Our 'woke bro' line on women's rights re self-ID is horrifying women voters. They cannot believe that the place where antisemitism has been revivified as an issue is in the Labour party. We are behaving like a student union - we could not look less like a potential government if we tried.

My question is:
When and how are the Labour Party going to show voters what a Labour government would do, stand for, look like? It will soon be too late.

Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t seem very visible at the minute (outside of PMQs). You seem to be everywhere (even on Mumsnet, which has featured Party Leaders and Leaders in waiting in the past). Why is Jeremy suddenly so quiet?

It's John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, and Shadow Chancellor. I've just arrived - a bit late as the bus was stuck in traffic. Just having a cup of tea, but they've taken the biscuits away! OK, they're back. So, I'm ready to get going on your questions.

I've read a lot about 'Lexit' but I've never noticed you use the word. Would you say it accurately represents your take on Brexit and it explains the Labour Party's seemingly passive stance on Brexit?

@Nomorechickens

Hi John, how can Labour improve its media management without going down the discredited Blair-style spin doctor route? Because frankly the whole anti-semitism row has been a PR disaster for Labour - delayed low-key denials and failure to attack the Tories for equivalent (and worse) behaviour. This has allowed the media to establish a popular perception that Labour is anti-semitic through and through, which is just not true.

My view is that we are always going to struggle with some elements of the media because they're owned by very wealthy people who oppose our policies. But that doesn't mean we cant be more effective in how we communicate. One of the ways is to be just absolutely straight about what we believe in and yes take the flack if necessary because people respect you if you're honest even if they disagree with you.

Secondly we use live media as much as possible so that our message can't be distorted by editing, plus i think we are pretty effective at using social media (or our supporters are) and also we've reinvented word of mouth as a form of political communication with our meetings all around the country.
You're right the issue around anti antisemitism should have been handled much more effectively, and sooner! so that is one of the key lessons I've learnt over the past 3 months and lets hope we can move forward on this issue much more constructively

@CheeseTheDay

Hi John,

I'm Jewish, and have been a lifelong Labour voter, but due to the antisemitism row, I currently feel in political limbo. Now of course, not all Jewish Labour voters feel like this, BUT how do you propose Labour 'build bridges' with those of us in the Jewish community, who do feel let down by the party on this issue?

Thank you.

Following on from my last answer, one of the key things we've got to do now is exactly as you say: build bridges with the Jewish community. So, we're hoping that over this coming period we will be able to undertake a really detailed engagement with Jewish organisations and members of the Jewish community to talk this issue through, learn some lessons and then form strong alliances to tackle antisemitism within our society, wherever it occurs.

@araiwa

With both Theresa May as pm, and the Conservatives as a goverment having low ratings, it's pretty poor that Labour are stomping all over them.

Why do you think you're struggling to take the lead and what do Labour need to do differently going forward?

If we look back to last years election: we were, before the election was called, 24 points behind in the polls. People were predicting the demise of the Labour Party. In the election result we achieved 38% of the vote, and since then we have consolidated that, in the polls we are between 38-44% we need at least another 4 or 5% in the next general election to win. I think that is achievable, especially as when we go in to an election the legislation requires that we get a semblance of balanced coverage from the broadcast media. In the meantime we have to continue campaigning -hard- to get our message across. I think in the coming months as we move through the Brexit debate (and as other issues come to the fore) we will be able to do that. But I don't take anything for granted and that is why I am working really hard in developing labours economic policies which will tackle many of the bread and butter issues of everyday life that people are concerned about.

@IdahoJones

Hello John,

I've been on Mumsnet for very many years and have been following the debate amongst a lot of women about the creeping loss of sex-based women's rights.

I completely understand their concerns. They've become my own personal concerns.

Do you think that you genuinely, fully understand their concerns? Are you open to learning more?

Thanks.

Hello IdahoJones,

Thanks for this incredibly important question. I know just how important this topic has been for Mumsnet users. I am really trying hard to fully understand the range of views that have been expressed on this and I've set up a number of meetings now to talk to people from across the spectrum of views on this issue. I have already met some members of the trans community and a number of women who have raised issues on the development of this policy. Given the really strong views that there are, I really want to engage effectively with this to make sure we all can work together to develop an effective policy. So far, what I have learnt from the various discussions I've had is the strong view that this debate should be held with a strong sense of mutual respect. If we can engage with that debate in the coming months, I think we can arrive at a situation where we can build a real consensus. I have made it clear to people that I would welcome people to let me have their views - and large numbers have. That's why I am meeting various people in groups.

Hello John

Our campaign for Better Postnatal Care has helped to expose just how underfunded postnatal care is in the NHS, and how badly some new mothers are being let down - often with long-term effects for their physical and mental health.

Postnatal care comprises just 8% of a woman’s maternity care budget. We don’t want the other elements cut, but postnatal care needs more focus and more resources (as loads of maternity clinicians will tell you) to ensure women don't experience trauma, pain and degrading lifelong symptoms, with all the attendant consequences for their mental health and wellbeing.

We're working with NHS England, and we've got a list of actions to ensure women get prompt, compassionate and effective care from birth onwards, including the offer of physio to every postnatal woman, prompts to GPs to ask relevant questions at appointments, and a plan of care for every mother leaving hospital after a difficult birth.

We'd love to work with Labour on this. Would you consider it?

What policy measures would Labour bring in to tackle the sex discrimination that women face (e.g. the EHRC saying that 54,000 pregnant women lose their jobs every year) and the under representation of women (only 32% of MPs are women)?

Hi John

Can you please why you are still pushing the idea of a jobs first brexit when it is utterly meaningless
How EXACTLY will brexit benefit the poor and the vulnerable ?
If you cannot explain how it will help the poor and the vulnerable can you instead explain why you are still failing to oppose Brexit ?

i think we are pretty effective at using social media (or our supporters are)

With respect, I think it is a mistake to use social media to drive the narrative. When I (as a hated "moderate", who has previously voted Labour on many occasions) look at Labour supporters, and some Councillors and MPs, on Twitter, what I see above all is aggression and bullying, particularly of women. It has made me fearful of what a Labour government under Corbyn would be like.

@SwordToFlamethrower

Hi John, Thanks for coming to mumsnet.

I'm a victim of rape who has never seen her rapist spend a day in jail due to the roughly 6% conviction rates.

Recent statistics stated that just over half of all transwomen inmates are in for violent offences against women.

Do you think it's important that trans people who have committed crimes against women or children , such as rape or assault should be permitted to be housed in women's prisons? Do you think over all women inmates safety, and justice for victims of these crimes should come first, rather than the feelings of that one violent inmate?

I found your post heart-rending for what you've been through, I can't even imagine the pain that you have gone through. One of the key elements that has come out of this discussion is that most people I have spoken to on the spectrum of views have emphasised that whatever policies are developed people must be safe and feel safe. That is what i'm hoping, that we can build a consensus around a policy that enables this to happen. All our policies on whatever subject must be impact assessed for their safety and in the Labour Party and elsewhere we have emphasised the need for this to be applied, particularly for women, because of the long history of abuse of women within our society, regrettably.