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.

He didn't hire me - for sure.

If he had I would have planted several clues and red herring regarding biscuits. Then got the sack.

I've made the Times too, sadly not my immigration question, but that I asked him what biscuit before he left

Rhubarb: "No-one asked why they should vote Labour, but you thought you'd stick an ad in anyway. I hope you cough up the £30 charge for advertising your company on Mumsnet." ROFLROFL

Almost all his posts were 3-line answers to questions about parenting (apart from his essay on the Labour Party ). How disappointing. Am really 'surprised' he didn't explain why his party has crushed our civil liberties.

I also noted that he only managed about 1/2 answers per page, despite the deluge of questions - surely he'd have a troupe of lackeys typing up ready answers for him to give yay or nay to so that he could speed through the questions? Well, I suppose that would only happen if he considered himself answerable to the electorate.

Justine and Carrie - in general I find that these web chats are a fab idea (with brilliant guests) but frequently disappointing as the guest only gets through a handful of answers. Would it be possible to extend them to 1.5 hours?

treedelivery - I didn't have a good education and grammar and maths etc are all pretty shocking. This is why I expect so much from my 'betters' who run the country. If they make simple mistakes, not typos, what hope do our children have?

I could go on about standards of spelling etc but will zip it.

Was it him actually typing? Probably not.

Biscuitgate made the front page of the Sunday Telegraph today

Or, yesterday (Sunday!) even

Hehe - Just taken delivery of six tubes of choc chip butter biscuits from Downing St with a note from the PM saying he enjoys these ones. (Hoping biscuitgate never ends )

Blimey won't this escalate matters?

are you giving them away to a worthy coffee morning?

hahahahaha.

SO very alarming that there are 10 Downing St branded biscuits though

I do hope they didn't get em knocked up specially?!

i love gordon

Oh that's lovely.

It appears biscuitgate is a good thing for all.

er, are you going to eat them all?

can't madamedefarge get a packet?

Roffle.

They look niiiiiice. [salivating]

Yes Madame Defarge should have some, shouldn't she? Think there's still one tube left . (Will you contact us with your address if you'd like some MD? They're rather good.)

Gopping, are you related to Gordon, perchance?

Hello MMH. DB here.

Ooh, you're looking gorgeous tonight, darlin'. Fancy a cuppa tea and a bourbon biscuit in the Cabinet meeting room (fnar fnar)?

I was kind of hoping there would be a glut of biscuitgate namechanges.

It seems i am alone.

Ooooooh! pleasy pleasy pleasy!

Good on Gordon!

And I hope Biscuitgate makes up in some small way for having been so shouty eloquent about the whole DM thing...

Sorry, have been off the ball since Gordon clearly found himself thrown off-balance by my incisive questioning. My wit has been suffering.

Am in the middle of booking a holiday so can't really do much posting - am just looking for some light relief so came onto MN for a 10 min break.

How's you?

Oh, and does anyone actually know why Gordy was so coy about his biscuiting habits? Rather abnormal, isn't it? And funny how all the other leaders are rushing to cash in on his embarassment - is this becoming his 'I smoked but never inhaled'?

rofl, that is great. and they do look nice.

I'm fine.

Biscuitgate is all very silly.

But most amusing.

Changing the subject back to me! , do you think £600 on a 1 bed holiday apartment is expensive? My eyes are spinning and my head is going blue. I've had enough of searching for cheap places to stay.

and just for GBTL, you likey new name?

where are you going, start a thread, we can help. mners found me a great apartment, fab price in rome for a week, think it only came to about 300 quid. but that was before the euro went bananas right enough.