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.

SomeGuy - there are other profitable companies in the UK besides just the banks!

And maybe it will be about increased corporation tax. I was thinking, specifically, of those companies who make multi-millions of profit. Maybe after a certain profit threshold GB Ltd gets to take a cut?

Oh, also wanted to add, I'm so pleased we no longer have a PM who thinks that his decisions are inspired by the Divine.

I hope you like your stay on MN.

Wow!

{Hassled, fab question, thats what I wanted to ask, but yours is worded far better than I could have done)

OK, I would like to ask

Do you think that Tony Blair will be a good EU President should he be successful?
Do you think if he did get the Presidency that you'd work well together and how will it benefit the UK?

Aside from the obvious childcare related questions which lots of people will ask (like why do I have to earn £50k to have anything left for me after paying my nanny a decent wage, or for two children in nursery?), I'd like to put forward a question/suggestion:

Please can we have more police out actually enforcing the more "minor" laws which are constantly being broken? We introduce more and more speed limits for example, and stronger penalties for using a phone while driving, but people are still getting away with of these things. Putting in more controls isn't going to put persistent offenders off - but if they really thought there was a chance of getting caught they wouldn't do it. Same for littering / fly tipping. Our society would feel like people had more respect for each other if the worst felt their behaviour might result in comeback for them.

What do you think?

Mr Brown are there any plans being made to help stay at home parents who are not on benefits get back into the work place or retraining to better their emplyment chances?

I have found it increasingly difficult to be able to afford to go to college or get back to work because my partner works and it would just mean paying out a lot more than is coming in especially with me attending college unpaid. We do recieve tax credits but nothing else and my partner is in a basic paid job, yet I have friends who are single parents/on benefits and can do courses without having to worry about rent, council tax or childcare costs.

Thank you for your time

Oh god that did'nt amke sense did it, should've stuck with the telepathic question

Dear Prime Minister

Could you please change the rules so that childcare is allowed as a tax deductable expense for those of us who are self-employed or running small businesses?

Thanks

MNHQ - is there any way we could vote for our favourite 2 questions and you would definitely ask him to answer the top 4, rather than choose them all himself? This is such a once in a lifetime opportunity it would be great for him to answer questions the majority of people think are really important.

VV good idea cleanandclothed...

Sorry if its already been asked, but why can't my husband have my tax allowance as I am a stay at home parent. as the system is now we worked out we would both be financially better off if we split up, surely this is wrong!

Dear Gordon,

Why is there no equivalent of the Child Care Voucher tax break for the self employed.

My partner and I are both self employed with 2 children that need childcare. We have to pay the full cost ourselves. Friends on much higher incomes than us have both their employers in the scheme saving that family £250 a month (one is a higher rate tax payer) than us for exactly the same childcare.
I took this up with my MP Janet Anderson (she is fab) but the answer came back from the treasury that this scheme is only for employed parents. I then tried the Federation of Small Businesses of which I am a member. Their Stephen Alambritis told me i had to start a petition, 'get some national pr', start a groundswell and then once I've done all the hard work, the fsb will take it up and start lobbying!! (and no doubt take any credit...)

As a self employed parent of two small children it would be interesting to see if I still had any business left after all that petitioning and trying to get in the national press....

So, can you tell me why my self employed partner and I are £200 per month worse off paying childcare than families on the same income who happen to be employees. Month on month, year on year. I can't bring myself to work out the long term figure. This government is supposed to help entrepreneurs but you are imposing this unfair stealth tax on self employed families.

I can't join in the live webchat sorry, I'll be working!

oops just noticed you there MagNacarta! Great minds think alike

I'll sign your petition flibberty (but don't have time to take nose off grindstone long enough to organise the campaign myself, sadly).

Well done MNHQ, what a coup!

I see there are already lots of questions for gordon, but i would like to ask the following:

Why do maternity services still seem to be at the bottom of the pile when it comes to investment and staffing levels?

I believe the NHS would save an absolute fortune by providing more midwives and one to one care from a named midwife, which is the aim, but seems no closer to being achieved.

Women who are supported by a known and named MW seem to come through birth better , both physically and emotionally.. and then use less resources post birth in terms of counselling, birth debriefing , even having post birth repairs /surgery

the illusion of choice remains an illusion.. often women have to fight to give birth in a midwife led unit, or at home, due to lack of staff

considering birth involves the needs of the woman and the baby, surely more investment at this critical point in the lives of the mother and baby would reap long term benefits for all

supporting breastfeeding properly would save money too, yet in the trust i am involved in, the breastfeeding supporter works monday to friday only and not in the SCBU. so a special care baby born at the weekend gets no specialised breastfeeding help if it's needed

why are maternity services still woefully underfunded?

paolasgirl, bossykate, and sallypuss you are now legends in the marketing world

Wow MNHQ. Just wow. Well done.

Lots of great questions on here already so I will just read tomorrow.

My use of the word "brave" has been misunderstood. Off to put them right....

Wow, Gordon Brown!

I would like to ask about the Tax Credit 16 hour rule, and exactly why it exists?

I've (as a single parent) recently started a new job, and luckily, they liked me so much at interview they found the extra hour to offer me the job, but I had to leave my previous job due to my hours being reduced to 15.

How does it make sense to stay at home on benefits, when I was desperate to work, because of this rule?

Another person who would like to ask the childcare vouchers question.

I have a decent professional job but I still only just break even by working. Without the vouchers I will lose money by working. But if I quit the chances are I'll never get another job in the field again and you lose all my tax money. Why is this a good idea (unless you are deliberately trying to take working mothers out of the workforce to free up jobs for men and school leavers who would be more likely to claim benefits than stay-at-home-mums )?

Were you very worried when the SNP won the Scottish Parliament seat in the constituency next to yours?