MNHQ here: Got a question for the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak MP?

[JuliaMumsnet]

Hi all,

It's clear from the boards that Mumsnet users are feeling the squeeze from the rising cost of living. So we're pleased to say that later this week, Justine will be sitting down with the man who holds the nation's purse strings, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, to ask him your questions.

If you have a question you'd like answering, you can post it below. Please stick to the usual guidelines - one question per user, keep it civil, and if one topic is dominating, please don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. We'll be limited for time so we won't be able to ask every question - but we'll try to make sure we cover the topics that we know are important to Mumsnet users.

We'll be closing the thread at midnight tonight, so please do get your questions in before that - and watch this space to hear the Chancellor's responses!

Thanks,
MNHQ

Why did you choose to waste £5 billion on cutting fuel duty by a very small amount?
Many companies did not pass on the saving and in any case, with fuel still rising despite oil prices stabilising, it was a pointless gesture.

That £5 billion (which it will cost over the coming months) could have been used to fund a significant pay rise for care workers, which in turn would ease the patient discharge situation in the NHS, which as my daughter will tell you, is destroying the health service.

Thank you for taking questions here. Do you think that there is a need for voters and taxpayers to have a clearer understanding of what government spends its income on? And if so, what do you think the Treasury and wider government can do to increase transparency around where government spending falls?

To be fair I work in Landscape Architecture (both commercial and private). If people with means like Rishi don’t continue to develop their homes and gardens then that’s our industry struggling.

Its peak planting season atm and some nurseries are commenting it’s quieter. We are also seeing less private residential coming through the pipeline.

Its not tone deaf. It’s supporting business and employed people!

who advises you on your stunts?
ie pouring beer,
filling up petrol?

Do you think Boris and his cronies were behind the leak of your wife’s tax affairs?

I do.

Why are you in politics when it’s such a backstabbing, dirty place that won’t get better for any length of time and certainly not whilst Boris is PM?

You were a vocal champion for Brexit. How do you feel when you see small, local companies such as Goodlife Foods move production from Nottinghamshire to mainland Europe. They cited ‘challenging trading conditions’ since leaving the EU.

I would also like to know why the government doesn't do more to help unpaid carers, who save the taxpayer billions each year.

Carer's Allowance is £69.70 per week. Carers must provide at least 35 hours of care per week to qualify - so the hourly rate is £1.99. Of course many unpaid carers provide 24 hour care, which works out at 42p per hour.

Thanks for this mumsnethq. If he turns up for it and doesn't have a last minute emergency then I will be amazed.
If he actually engages properly I will be flabbergasted.
I don't have a question yet, will have a think and come back, there are so many to ask given the shit storm the British people are living through thanks to government mismanagement and dishonesty causing the poorest in our society to be shafted.
It will be interested to hear the viewpoint of the man in charge who plans to spend more heating water in the next year than my dh and I had to cover all of our financial needs (housing, clothing, heating, food, council tax) through the pandemic.

Five topics:

Why, after 10 or so years of austerity was the deficit much, much larger, even before the pandemic. What was the point in cutting services for this?

Why was your party so keen for us to lockdown the nation to protect the elderly and vulnerable, but now you are happy for them to freeze and starve to death, or not be able to run medical equipment that is essential to their survival instead?

Why does your party pedal such divisive politics? Is this because it is a distraction from other things, such as corruption and incompetence?

Do you all really think we are that stupid that we don't know what you all get upto, or do you just don't care? Are you hoping to gain women's votes here by using the gender ID argument and think we will overlook all the mountain of other issues your party has created and vote for you?

How do you sleep at night?

Actually, I have five questions - please could you also ask Boris this too?

[Waits for this post to transform itself into a deleted post]

What is a woman?

Have you costed out your meagre intervention in the cost of fuel against the increased demand on the NHS as poorly heated homes impact the health of the vulnerable this winter? How much are you saving?

Many people who are expecting the £150 rebate to help with the cost of living are yet to receive it with some councils saying the wait will still be some time. some reports quoting dates as late as September. What if anything do you plan to do to ensure this money is being passed on to the people who really need it and not sitting gaining interest in the accounts of the local councils.

Thanks all very much for your questions so far - especially those sharing personal stories. Just a reminder that we'll have limited time, so the more succinct the questions the more we'll have time to get to.

As someone who’s relatively well off but has a disability that means they cannot get too cold and rely heavily on a car, how do you propose I maintain a standard of living and be a productive member of society next winter, given the current trend in energy and fuel prices? Currently I have a job but without the means to affordably fund those two things I cannot work and therefore cannot contribute to the economy (that I presume as chancellor you would like to see grow?)

Rishi,

Can you, hand on heart, say that you are in your job for the right reasons? Are you in the post for public service and to help improve the lives of the people of Great Britain, or are you in the job to help keep obscenely privileged people in their position of obscene privilege?

What does your wife think of the nickname Dishy Rishi and does she mind you working?

How do you expect people who are already struggling to feed themselves and their young children, survive this winter with the expected further rises in energy and cost of living?

Has Akshata's recent treatment by the media made you realise the innate sexism that is endemic in this country and what should be done about it?

Why do we not , as Labour suggest, scrap Non-dom tax status with an exclusion for only those working here temporarily

Please can you describe the difference between legal and moral?

Please can you explain why, even before Covid, people working full time need to use food banks?

Please can you explain why rent caps and secure tenancies have not been set up?

Please can you explain why private education is considered a charity, when it's just for rich people wanting their children to get more of a head start on and to avoid poorer children?

Please can you explain why, not having private medical insurance meant my friends had to die? - this is true, the NHS now mainly only diagnoses cancer in A&E, when it's too late.

How are you going to grow the economy in the short, medium and long term? We've lagged behind other large economies since the 2008 recession and I personally don't feel we have invested enough in our future.

If pensioners continue to work after pension age why don't you make them pay NI (Not just the recent social care add on)?

Is the job of chancellor really what you thought it would be and what makes you, as someone who doesn’t necessarily have to think about counting the pennies or pounds, and probably never has, qualified to understand the challenges of making ends meet? This is a genuine question, why you?

Why don’t you focus on taxing assets and income derived from them passively for the new NHS and social care levy, rather than earned income, when there has been huge growth in assets (driven to some degree by QA)?