Gordon Brown on Mumsnet this Friday (16th October) lunchtime between 1-2 pm

[JustineMumsnet]

We're delighted to announce that the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will be logging on to Mumsnet for a live webchat on Friday (tomorrow) lunchtime from 1 to 2. The PM is ready to answer Mumsnetters' questions on a wide-range of policy issues from the economy to education and from childcare to climate change.

As you know we're not great ones for rule books here at MNHQ, but we'd like this to be as useful and enlightening an event as it can be, for all involved. We aren't going to pre-moderate or pre-select questions - the format will be as per usual - but given the likely popularity of this webchat, the sheer number of you all and our past experience of trying to fit everything in, we've come up with a few ground rules which we'd be very grateful if you'd follow.

Guidelines for MN webchat with PM

1. To allow as many folks as possible to be involved, please restrict your questions to one per member plus a follow up question if appropriate, i.e. once you've had a response. (NB don't even think about name changing to ask another, we'll be watching!).

1. Please keep your question reasonably brief (we'll not doing a word count but it will increase your chance of getting an answer, we suspect, if you don't bang on for paragraphs)

1. It's highly unlikely he'll be able to answer everyone's question but we'll make every effort to bring common themes to his attention. Please don't be too disappointed if your specific question doesn't get answered and do try not to keep posting "What about me?". He can't answer them all and he is the PM after all - so has a quite few time constraints.

1. Obviously you're free to voice your opinion but do be civil/polite - the PM is our guest on Mumsnet so, whatever your politics, please afford him the same cordiality you would if he stopped by your own house.

Many thanks - feel free to put your question up in advance if you can't make the live chat on Friday lunchtime.

I am rather bemused by people being bemused at the PPB...he's a politician, he came on here because he thought it would be a good way of doing a bit of campaigning/lobbying and maybe some listening. he didn;t come on here cos he thought it would be a fun way to spend his lunch hour. or out of the kindness of his heart. the election campaign has started.

Agree, no tough questions answered and far fewer answered that I expected. I'm really disappointed by that actually. He managed to comment on his solar panels and what movie he's taking his children to see but failed to comment on home education, why we are pushing children into formal education so early, real answered to armed forces questions, taxing stay at home parents' less among many others.

Did he answer the biscuit question?!!

Humph at him not answering my question

This reminds me of Jasper Fforde's books, where they have a programme called 'evade the question time' extra points for shifting blame to the oppositions, double ppoints for bringin puppies into it, and lose points for actually answering

Indeed, rather disappointing. I know there were loads of questions, and some can't be answered just like that (ie specifics on benefits and stuff) but really, if all we are going to get is another spin on soundbites, a bit of a waste of time.

And still no Biscuit resolution.

and we still don't know what biscuits he eats!

i think he did absolutely fine. agree with hatwoman.

Whispywhisp at 12.51pm

"Mr Brown...

Please can you convince me to vote Labour at the next General Election?"

I asked about voting Labour actually, though I didn't ask why I shouldn't vote for the Conservatives .

I didn't like that last answer actually, 'don't take it from me - ask them' - that's just empty rhetoric, going on the offensive to the other side without giving any real reasons why I should vote Labour. We don't want to be spoken to like idiots by politicians. All the questions here have been very intelligent (well most of them), we would like to be spoken to like intelligent adults with an attention span of more than 10 seconds. We don't need rallying cries, we need action. Sorry, but I am disappointed but that ending.

I will not hear a word against him. He got his lackey to answer my question spoke to me.

Oh Pofaced. You can't really be thinking you want to vote for, gasp, DC can you? You seem so nice, tell me it's someone else. Lib Dems? Greens?

No wonder he's going to be out on his ear.Supreme fence sitter though

too right captain nancy.

does he think we are thick? ignoring our questions!.
not answering really ANY of them fully and properly

Must say I am disappointed . He's a bloody slow typist, my grandmother who's never used a computer or typewriter would've been able to answer more questions.

aviatrix you could always vote libdem.

Thanks for coming on Mr Brown.

Considering Tony Blair handed you a steaming pile of dung I think you've done amicably in office given the circumstances and will certainly be voting for you next year.

I thought he came across much better than Ed Balls. Gordon was early and Ed was late, so brownie points there. Unfortunately, his last post really let him down. Sack your spin doctor, Gordon. You missed the right tone at the end.

Nappy, we have instructions to set our accounts software back up to 17.5% from 1 January. Sorry about that!

Also sorry there was no time to address my points on small business. Many of us on here are involved in one way or another in small enterprises. You want to do it right and legal and legit but at the end of year you just think 'why bother'.

Well that was a waste of time! Only a couple of questions answered in a totally non-informative, shallow way; and then that PPB at the end. Ah well. [resigned shrug emoticon]

I suppose at least he did take the time, even if it was wasted.

maybe he needs to go and consult with his advisors on what would be the most vote winning biscuit to admit to liking?

What a lot of old bollocks.
'Morningpaper - you ask if I consider myself an unlucky Prime Minister? Not when I'm sitting here at mumsnet!' I'm totally getting that printed up and sending it to him on a nice big card the morning after he loses the election