Got a question for Keir Starmer or Bridget Phillipson?

[RhiannonEMumsnet]

Hi all,

We’re pleased to tell you that later this week Justine will be sitting down with Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer and Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to ask them Mumsnet users’ 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 deleting questions that are repeated multiple times). We'll be quite limited for time so do keep questions as short as possible so that we’re able to ask more of them - as always, we'll try to make sure we cover the topics that we know are important to Mumsnet users.

We'll be closing this thread at 5pm on Thursday, so please do get your questions in before that - and watch this space to hear the responses. If you'd like a reminder of the format you can see our interview with Boris Johnson here.

Thanks,
MNHQ

Is the decision to add VAT to school fees just for the optics? It may look like a “ down with the rich” populist strategy to align with the leftist hatred of the private system- but in reality you are shooting yourselves and all the state school pupils and parents in the foot ( or feet) . It is not sound maths when you consider that it is likely that circa 100,000 children will be forced out of the private sector ( due to this VAT) and enter state at a cost to the stateof £6,000 per pupil per annum. Also the a significant proportion very affluent parents , who are able to continue to send their children to private school, will pay fees up front in anticipation of this VAT therefore avoiding it altogether. To add to this the closure of many private schools, loss of jobs, community hubs and historical buildings.

The UK has one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world. The cost of nurseries and preschools forces many parents, especially women, out of work. This is bad for their careers and for the economy. What are you planning to do about it? Is the long-term plan to have a state run early education system like many other European countries? How are you going to make sure parents of young children can afford to work?

To Keir. How are you going to convince female voters to vote Labour when you have insulted them in every possible way, to paraphrase a wonderful female author?

As above re self-ID and single sex spaces.

But have you any plans to improve the lot of "family" carers? All parties always say how important we are etc, but Carers Allowance remains low. Also how about improving public transport accessibility for disabled users (especially the tube).

I'm afraid my only question for Keir Starmer is to do with protecting women and women's rights. I'm sorry if it's repetitive and tedious ... but he won't get my vote on current message. Which makes me immensely sad as a Labour voter since my first GE in 1983.

Wtf????

How would you approach the teacher retention crisis and skills and knowledge gap created by covid lockdowns?

MN I know you said one question but the potential solutions will be interrelated.

Great question. I would add with compromising the standard of care.

Seriously @mnhq I don’t think threat of censorship of perfectly valid points that people have taken the time and care to write, is in anyway a good reflection on your organisation. It compromises your integrity and suggests that you are threatening removal of opinion because the range of topics isn’t broad enough for your liking. You are dealing with adults not very small children

Are you going to invest in social care? If so how?
How are you going to improve the status of people who work within the care system?
Is this a priority for you?

This. Labour are vastly less attractive to vote for until they work this ‘issue’ out.

I imagine this will get deleted too in keeping with the censorship theme

Would you extend free school meals, either by increasing the benefit threshold, or by making them universal for more ages (like is already the case for reception to year 2)?

More generally, public services clearly need investment (the institute for government report this week on what's left to cut is beyond depressing - basically, nothing), and I'd expect a labour government to abandon austerity. How would you raise the money that our public services badly badly need, without creating an economic crisis through increased borrowing/increased wage inflation/etc?

So my view and chance to question the Labour Party should be silenced? I don't expect MN to ask the same questions but we should be allowed to post them. This isn't a thread for chatting, it is a thread for raising questions. I hope they read this thread and realise the strength of feeling.

And to quote a PP, my question is about women's issues not trans issues.

I want to know how can they develop policy to protect and support women if they can not define them.

The questions I would have asked have already been covered, it remains to be seen if they will actually be put to these two politicians. If they are, will they be properly answered??

Anyway, what I would ask instead is how Starmer and his party can address the complete breakdown of trust in politicians. I don't believe that there are many current politicians who have integrity, intelligence, competence and care. What can Starmer actually do (not say) to change this?

If, as Prime Minister, it was proven to you that the overwhelming evidence from recognised experts is that Brexit has caused significant damage to the UK economy, would you consider the UK re-entering the customs union and single market?

I'm sure Sir Kier Starma is more than capable of reading a thread of (currently) fewer than 100 posts @YetAnotherBeckyMumsnet

Please don't edit or censor the thread. Please ask him to read the thread and the various posts here. Perhaps that might persuade him of the strength of feeling about the issue of 'what is a woman'

Apologies - 'Starmer'

If it's like the Boris interview, it will be a live verbal interview, not typed answers on the thread.

What would you do to ensure UK universities continue to be places where students are taught to think critically, to read widely and to tolerate differences of opinion, and where both students and staff have the right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression?

How are you going to reverse the privatisation of the NHS?

Health services, particularly mental health services are in a real state. Recruiting and retaining staff is difficult due to conditions and pay, this affects people using the services. What will you do to improve this?

Linked to this, health records are poorly shared. In one area you can have records on more than 4 different systems (GP, social care, general hospital, mental health) with no link between them. This can cause people to fall through gaps or professionals to work with an inaccurate picture and not provide optimum care, especially in time sensitive situations. What are your thoughts on having a standardised NHS / social care record system, with data accessible (with consent)with all organisations involved in your care?

I'd be amazed if his advisors didn't read the thread beforehand. And presuming they do, they'd be very foolish not to pass on the number of posts and the strength of feeling on this subject from women who, like me, have always voted Labour.

Sir Keir Starmer made references to Liz Truss's (lack of) credibility recently. I wonder exactly how much credibility he thinks he personally, and the Labour party generally, have in the opinions of very many women?

He is willing to lie, dissemble and equivocate about basic, obvious facts, so he cannot be trusted about anything.

The labour SPADS might also want to catch centrist voters like me, who don’t like ideological extremism, I didn’t like Liz Trusses extreme economic ideas, and I don’t like extreme ideology which marginalises women and removes safe guarding from children and vulnerable adults.