Webchat with John McDonnell, Shadow Chancellor, Friday 6 December at 12 midday

[AnnaCMumsnet]

We’re very pleased to announce a webchat with the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, this Friday 6 December at 12 midday.

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.

Labour’s economic plans have proved a talking point during this election; the manifesto includes plans for free nationalised broadband services, increases in NHS spending, an increase in the minimum wage, freezing the state pension age at 66, and a ‘Green New Deal’. John has said the plans will tackle rising living costs; the IFS has said that Labour’s spending plans don’t add up (it says the same about the Conservatives).

Labour’s pledge to compensate WASPI women with an average £15k payout has caused a huge amount of conversation on our sister site Gransnet, so we’ll be taking questions from GN on that (and other topics) too.

Please do join the chat on Friday at midday, or if you can’t make it, leave a question here in advance. Please note John won’t be able to do the full hour because his time is pretty over-committed but we will detain him as long as we can!

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. (We will be taking action on this, including suspending the accounts of MNers who continue to heckle after we've posted to ask people to stop, so please take note.) 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.

Thanks

I have been worried about the levels of what some have described as abuse within this discussion and I think it's now time for us all to come together to have a proper and considered discussion.

Hi John. Thanks for at least responding. But an unworkable manifesto promise (re exemptions) is just that: unworkable.

Until someone in authority in the Labour Party can confirm to me that it views women as an oppressed class under capitalism, exploited by means of their reproductive sex, and that policy will be created accordingly, I cannot vote for you.

This is a matter of great sadness to me.

@ElusiveOrangeTwirl

Hi John

Jeremy is someone who has being consistent with his politics for years and has always worked to serve the many and not the few. Why do you think he is such a divisive character, despite this?

I don't think he is a divisive person. In fact his whole political life has been about bringing people together. However, when you are challenging the establishment and yes the powerful and the wealthy, of course those that have the power and the wealth will do everything they can to attack and undermine him. And that's what's been happening. Jeremy is a person of principle and courage who has stood up to all these attacks calmly and never responds to the personal attacks but simply gets on with the job of representing our community.

we aim to reform the law to include self-identification
Oh dear.

Thank you for answering my question, John.

I'm not sure if you're aware of the #labourlosingwomen hashtag but there are large numbers of women right now who feel politically homeless. We've never voted Conservative. Many of us are Remainers. But we don't feel able to vote for any political party that prioritises gender identity over biological sex. If just one left-wing party would say, explicitly "Yes, we'll retain and support the single-sex exemptions for biological women in women only spaces, services, jobs, accommodation, female-only candidate lists and sports, and the exemptions will NOT include transwomen either with or without GRCs" then we'd have a party to vote for.

we aim to reform the law to include self-identification

If I was looking for the smallest slightest reason to vote Labour, trust me - this would have extinguished it completely.

Thanks for making the policy clear.

Thanks John for answering my question. You've gone up in my estimation.
People are desperate to acquire my fields to build but I'm not budging.
I'd be happy to send you my views on farming.

[quote Sunkisses]@JohnMcDonnell, you say on the Equality Act 2010 single-sex exemptions:
"Hence we aim to reform the law to include self-identification but this does open up a whole debate around the single sex-based exemptions that will be maintained under the Equalities Act. This has to be dealt with sensitively and people's views need to be respected. "
NO! Why are you suggesting the Equality Act 2010 single-sex exemptions will now be 'debated'? The single-sex exemptions are quite clear. Trans people can be excluded - perfectly lawfully - from women only spaces, services, jobs, accommodation, female-only candidate lists. Your manifesto is quite clear that you will "increase understanding of and enforce" the single-sex exemptions, but now you seem to be suggesting they will now be 'debated'. JUST NO.[/quote]

They are clear I agree but the implementation of the exemptions has always been a matter of practical discussion. One of the key issues is that it often requires investment to implement policies and we must ensure that all the public services and organisations involved have the resources to ensure an effective implementation.

we aim to reform the law to include self-identification

Conservative it is then!

Hi John

What is Labour's position on single sex spaces? The manifesto says they will be preserved but Dawn Butler says otherwise. Who's right?!

@Cismyfatarse

What is the Labour Party's position on Scottish independence. Will they uphold the will of the majority, who voted no, or are they going to allow a second referendum to appease the SNP? If so, why?

We are opposed to a further referendum because we don't believe it's necessary. We should all be concentrating on ending austerity and tackling climate change because we face both social and environmental emergencies. The Scottish parliament has the right if it secures a mandate to request a further referendum but we've made it clear we would not consider another referendum in the early years of a Labour government because we want to focus on those twin goals of ending austerity and tackling climate change. I would urge all political parties to recognise the priorities of these twin emergencies rather than spend time on constitutional issues like this.

Hi John,

I'm one of the betrayed Labour Leave voters - like my vote, you've also ignored my question.

I will not give my vote to your party.

@GlassOfPort

Hi John, if you were living in a very tight Con/LibDem marginal (let's say Dominic Raab's seat), what would you be voting?

I vote Labour.

I will just repeat this

If just one left-wing party would say, explicitly "Yes, we'll retain and support the single-sex exemptions for biological women in women only spaces, services, jobs, accommodation, female-only candidate lists and sports, and the exemptions will NOT include transwomen either with or without GRCs" then we'd have a party to vote for.

Those services are specific for the women accessing them. In a refuge, for example, women traumatised by sexual abuse seek sanctuary. They cannot even take their own son to one, if he is over 10 years old.

If these services are needed then it makes sense for there to be specific services for transwomen, because beyond the fact that they generally share who it is who has been abusing them, the similarity of experience and need and even health needs, stops there. Surely it would be better to look into services that would offer the same kindof amazing support for a specific client?

How dare you debate my daughter's right to single sex spaces. Shame on you.

HEAR, HEAR Trewser.

Well said.

Still hopeful on my environmental question, especially as my local Labour MP can't be bothered to reply on it #ClimateEmergency

@Sunkisses

Why was my post deleted which said that the single-sex exemptions in the Equality Act 2010 should not be 'debated' and this contradicts the position of the Labour Party manifesto (which firmly commits to the single-sex exemptions)? Why can I not make this point to the shadow Chancellor?

Sorry Sunkisses - fat fingers!

Hi John
As a teacher and lifelong labour voter you have just lost my vote. Debate existing LEGAL SEX-BASED RIGHTS?! I don’t think so. And bring in self-ID? You need to catch up with the conversation on men who want access to women’s toilets, compelled speech, and the surgical mutilation of young vulnerable adults. Go and research ROGD.

@crankysaurus

Hello John

Could you please say why I should vote Labour over the Greens with respect to environmental policies? (Please assume I'll be voting on policies, not tactical voting or for any individual politicians).

We have to face up to the fact that it is only Labour that has the ability to form a government committed to tackling climate change. My worry is that although many of the Green Party's policies are similar to our own, a vote for the Greens would enable in some instances a Conservative to be elected. The next five years are going to be critical for whether we are able to contribute to tackling climate change effectively in this country. That's why Labour has put forward a comprehensive Green New Deal which will put us at the leading edge of tackling climate change. I urge people to think hard and not put at risk the potential of a Labour government committed to environmental and green policies.

Hello John, just wanted to say, my question was probably unanswerable.

So just wanted to say a huge thanks from the travelling communities for your support in accepting travellers into your constituency.
I hope many more take your lead.

@DowntownAbby

Will you be displaying your IRA support plaque in No.11 if you get the keys?

I do not have a plaque of this sort. I have received a number of awards for supporting the Irish community in Britain and for tackling the social problems that many Irish migrants faced over the years. I am proud of my Irish roots and proud of the contribution Irish people have made to this country.

John,

My local Labour candidate said at a hustings this week that he wanted to "keep the NHS as a political football". Is this really the view of the wider Labour Party? That the NHS is simply a points-scoring entity to be used against the opposition? That doesn't sound like you care very much for the actual patients and staff and their lived experiences.

“How dare you debate my daughter's right to single sex spaces. Shame on you.”

Ditto.

They are clear I agree but the implementation of the exemptions has always been a matter of practical discussion.

How much practical discussion is necessary to stop sex offenders and male criminals being given access to incarcerated women as part of their punishment? Or allowing men to beat women in sport? Or allowing men access to traumatised rape victims in refuges?

If men who identify as women do not want to be in male prisons, or need a refuge, they can have one. Just not women's. Nothing complicated about that.

@LaraGransnet

Question from Gransnet user alig99

I'm very concerned about the lack of a labour policy regarding housing Affordable rented housing. Why isn't this a high priority for Labour say over free broadband.

Please contact me and I'll send you our manifesto and our housing policy papers. You will see securing social housing which is affordable to all is one of our highest priorities. That includes building 150,000 council homes a year. It includes secure tenancies. It includes where necessary rent controls to make sure people have fair rents. We are also ensuring that we tackle homelessness rapidly and particularly rough sleeping. No society can call itself civilised when 700 of our fellow citizens died homeless on our streets last year. Making sure everyone has a decent home is our highest priority.

So just wanted to say a huge thanks from the travelling communities for your support in accepting travellers into your constituency.

On the plus side, I second this.

But I'm voting (or not) for women in 2019.