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.

What happened then? Was he dead good?

A 50% tax take should always be received into a pair of Faginesque gloved hands.

lol. Nothing to do with snaffling olives, then

cornsilk, you didn't miss anything
just GB not answering our questions

i had visions of him dancing about singing, "next time baby, i'll be bullet proof"
while dodgeing MN bullets

How disappointing. Gordon you lightweight I had high hopes for you.

Ach.

TB was so at ease with being mediated and with PW's synthetic authenticity. He spoke as if he actually were the television screen. Medium and message and all that.

Whereas poor GB (whom I think did pwc) is doubly hamstrung. He came to office with the USP of being authentic, but how can one 'present' authenticity? he can't just be, he has to appear to be - we expect it now. And he's concentrating so hard on the appearing ('busy mums' and exclamation marks eek) that there's no space for himself.

He's a big Scottish russian doll thing. Inside there's a tiny little GB who acts and does, but the outside is just the appearance of authentic authenticity.

Actually the outside is quite little too, if you look at the photo. Unless Justine is wearing stilts.

Entirely possible.

Damn, I really wanted to know about the biscuits. I trawled through 40 pages to find out about the biscuits and I will still go to bed wondering....

I'm making an executive decision on this:

DIGESTIVES.

lovemydoand mr obama precisely

he just needs to learn to engage

maybe its a bit late

seems a wee bit humourless....but i do love him

Thanks for answering my question GB . Looking forward to toddler group next week (surestart)

I like him, I hate those slimy, pr washed tories with their empty chat and spin agents.

And I would rather leave him in charge of my purse than dopey Dave any day.

see? gordon, you should have come here aaaaages ago, we could have turned this all around for you.

and i really hope you have a minion dealing with all the other queries. and by dealing with i think i mean 'doing what mners suggested and quick-smart'.

On the other thread, Justine mentioned that GB "ate all the shortbread". There is no clearer proof that he is a shortbread fiend.

Don't like that excrutiating pun on the BBC site about GB jammy dodging the key questions. Bit contrived.

I imagine GB's a far nicer man than the alternative, but am a bit worried that he jammy dodged all the questions about the economy.

Aitch

I can genuinely imagine us all sitting round doing that question-asking thing you do with 8 year olds when you want them to Really Get It.

"And were we pleased when you announced the childcare vouchers withdrawal?
"It's not a withdrawal it's a -"
"Gordon. Look at me. Were we pleased?"
"No."
"No. No, we weren't."
"Sorry."
"Well done for saying sorry. But do you think you understand why we weren't pleased?"
"Was it because you feel that it would prevent many women on middle incomes from working, without a concomitant rise in the benefits bill?'
"Yes, well done! But actually, we don't say 'middle incomes', we say.."

rofl, absolutely.

gordon sweetheart, we love you just the way you are, stop paying attention to what that big lanky peter and all his pals in your class are saying, just be yourself and play with who YOU want to play with.

hear hear to what aitch said some hours ago

He loves a kit kat, but we hide the wrappers from Sarah.

arf. did you see nestle asked for their ads to be removed from the moir piece? that is when you know you are in deep shit...

yes, when nestle won't associate with you, things are not good.

was it really on the 'today' programme??

if so i hope it wasn't 'gordon disappoints' bullshit.

if so i hope it wasn't 'gordon disappoints' bullshit.

Yes his voice is the exact frequency and tone for sleep induction poor thing not his fault.

I like that he is a nice man in reality. The actor who played a younger him in the Granada restaurant programme yonks ago was more charming than Blair. They should repeat it, might help.