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.

[JohnMcDonnell]

@GlassOfPort

Hi John,
Thank you for coming on MN

I am another ex-Labour voter who is profoundly disappointed by the party's passive stance on Brexit. Here's my question:

Why is the Labour leadership not explicitly backing a referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal? (Saying that you are not ruling it out is not the same thing..that's sitting on the fence)

Good question. Let me set out our position from the outset, so we're clear. Firstly, The Labour Party respects the referendum result. Secondly, our position is that any Brexit deal negotiated has to protect our economy and jobs. Keir Starmer set out our six tests for any deal. If they are not met by whatever Theresa May brings back from Brussels, then we will not vote for the deal. My view, then, is that we should have a general election because, in a general election, people can not only debate the range of issues in full, they can also select the team that will then negotiate our future position. If we can't get a general election, we are keeping the option of another vote - a people's vote - on the table.

[Lefty99]

Hi John, I was a huge fan of yours and campaigned lots for the party since Corbyn became leader but resigned my membership this year as Labour has deserted it's female supporters and allowed us to be abused for wanted to discuss our rights. Self id is electoral suicide and given you can't win an election without us, will you agree to consult with women such as Linda Bellos and Women's Place UK about this issue? Thanks.

[JohnMcDonnell]

@Motheroffourdragons

Hi John, thank you for coming on here.

I am another lifelong labour party supporter who feels incredibly disenfranchised with the party over its stance on Brexit.

Will the labour party vote down any deal that the PM brings before parliament and if so, how can this mean anything other than we leave the EU with no deal?

Thank you.

We want to see if we can secure a general election because if Labour takes over the negotiations we believe we can get a deal agreed that will bring the country back together again. I don't want to let the Tories off the hook, I want them to be held accountable for the mess they've made over the last 2 years. We will vote and work to ensure that we avoid a no deal situation, and bring about a majority position for a deal that protects jobs and the economy and brings the country together.

[JohnMcDonnell]

@Pagwatch

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 ?

The issue here is that we have to respect the referendum that took place. Otherwise, we will be accused of flying in the face of a democratic decision. All the polling at the moment demonstrates that the country is deeply divided. We have to somehow bring the country back together again and I think the best way of doing that is to seek to reach a traditional British compromise on the basis of a constructive deal with our EU partners - one that maintains a close and collaborative relationship with the other EU countries that we can build upon. I believe that our European partners would be up for that sort of cooperative deal.

[JohnMcDonnell]

@walkingtheplank

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?

I don't comment on staff appointments. But in this instance let me make it clear that Seb Corbyn was appointed to my parliamentary office when I was a back-bencher and has worked for me for several years and prior to me becoming shadow chancellor. He was appointed on merit and I regret the level of abuse he's received just because of his surname. There was even an allegation that my son was working for Jeremy Corbyn when he was actually a university student and never worked for Jeremy. I do not believe that people's families should be brought into political debate in this way.

[Datun]

Hi John,

Karen White, a self-confessed male rapist, convicted sex offender and paedophile was housed in a female prison and went on to sexually assault four women. A female prison with a mother and baby unit.

On the back of the outrage over that John Burcow refused to let an urgent question be made in the house addressing the issue.

And following on from that Michelle Lewin, another male convicted paedophile, married to a male convicted paedophile, has also been held in a woman's prison, with, yes you've guessed it, a mother and baby unit.

My question is where do you stand on rewarding convicted rapists and paedophiles with being housed alongside women and children who cannot escape ?

[bobbinsand]

Easy!

[StealthNinjaMum]

Thank you for coming onto mumsnet.

Could you please tell us which women and feminist groups you have met with to discuss women's rights?

[JohnMcDonnell]

@BayeauxT

Hi John, do you agree that Jacob Rees-Mogg’s children are fair game? You are reported to have said: ‘I want to be in a situation where no Tory MP, no Tory MP, no coalition minister, can travel anywhere in the country, or show their face anywhere in public, without being challenged, without direct action.’

That leads me on to say that I totally condemn what happened when a person accosted Jacob's children. It was appalling. What I have said in the past is that MPs of whatever persuasion should be confronted by people if their actions in parliament are appalling. Protest and direct action have been part of our political life since time immemorial. Nevertheless, that protest and direct action must be peaceful.

[JohnMcDonnell]

@IAmLurkacus

Hi John

My question is this:
Does the Labour Party have any policy on the behaviour of it’s MP’s and other representatives on social media? I find the behaviour of several of them including MP’s to be abhorrently misogynistic, especially in regards to women raising concerns about self id. Special mention should also be made of several of the momentum twitter accounts which are one of the many reasons I will never vote Labour again.

My grandparents were lifelong socialists and labour voters and were members of the Labour Party and Fabian society for all of their adult lives. They would be turning in their graves if they could see what entryism has done to what used to be the Labour Party. In fact I even think they would support my decision to vote Tory.

I am really worried about social media now, people seem to think they can say anything on social media often in ways they would never say to your face. I just find we all need to stand back a bit and think hard about how we communicate and the reaction of people to our words. That includes me.

[Pagwatch]

Thank you for answering me but , with respect, your reply is nonsense.

You don’t have to respect a referendum where vote leave were found to have broken the law, no one actually explained what version of brexit was on the table and the result was marginal

It is preposterous to fudge as you are doing in the hope of getting s general election. I’m a lifelong labour supporter and I cannot vote for you unless you will protect the poorest and the weakest in society by preventing brexit. It would be more honest if ypjvto openly admit that you want brexit as much as the Tories - and to hell with those who will lose out.

[CADevine]

Hi John, I joined Labour when Corbyn was elected but am now dismayed by Labours position on self ID for transwomen and the general acceptance that self ID information transwomen can access single sex spaces including prisons and all women shortlists. The 2017 Manifesto said any policy change would have equality impact assessments done so that girls and women's rights are not undermined. Why will Labour not do this for self ID. Only 18% of people support it. Where is Labours committment to socialist rather than liberal feminism?

[Hazardswan]

Around of applause for Pagwatch comments 👏👏👏👏👏

[JohnMcDonnell]

@VeryBerrySeptember

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

Yes. My mum. My mum was a working class woman who left school at 14, worked in factories and then, in the Second World War, became a welder and an ARP warden. She came out of the war, was a cleaner and then worked for 30 years behind the counter in BHS. We never lacked for anything and she inspired both my brother and I to work hard at school. Her lasting advice was to always be kind. It's a lesson I repeat to myself on a daily basis.

[TiredClara]

What CADevine asks - can you reply to that question?

[frozenwarning]

Hi John,
On Twitter today by 10am I'd seen Bex Bailey being accused of weaponising her rape and inventing it, I've seen women called bitches and seen disabled activists being mocked, all by Corbyn supporters. This sort of abuse isn't just a social media thing, it happens in CLPs meetings too, where people are abused, shouted down, intimidated. When will you call off the dogs? Yes, I used that phrase deliberately because I think you should learn the meaning of metaphor. What do you plan to do to stop the hostile atmosphere that you and Momentum have created?

[Batteriesallgone]

Yes I would like to know which women’s groups you have consulted with regarding self-ID.

Will you meet with Women’s Place?

[womanformallyknownaswoman]

Just a reminder on some stats:

transgender comprise 0.6-1% of population,
women make up 51% of population

So why are women's rights considered less important and available to be negotiated away by ..you got it - men?

Why are women finding they are disenfranchised from Labour policies?

[JohnMcDonnell]

@Neshoma

John can you explain how the Labour Party plans to fund all these wild pledges, rather than just repeating you have 'costed them'? Will it be taxpayers like me? What are your plans for taxing the middle class?

I set out in the last election a costed programme in what we described as the grey book, it was published alongside the manifesto it was an honest attempt to explain the cost of each policy and the source of the funding. What I am doing now is exactly that. I am taking each individual policy promoted by the Labour party undertaking a detailed costing and then identifying the source of the funding. I will publish a detailed budget which I will then consult the wider community on. Everything we do will be open and transparent. People will be able to look at the costings, look at the funding sources and advice us whether not just they support them, but also whether they stack up. Basically what we said was, we will have a fair taxation system in which the top 5% of earners would pay a bit more income tax (that's people on £80k+) we would reverse some of the corporation tax cuts, introduce a financial transaction tax and tackle tax evasion/tax avoidance.

[AnythingButMagnolia]

Morning John.

Can we repair relations with Russia. If so, how?

[Pagwatch]

Can I just belatedly note that, as expected, John did not have a single example of how Brexit will help the poor and disadvantaged.

Let’s be really clear this is political can’t over the needs of real people.

[Pagwatch]

*cant