MNHQ calling: we want to know what would be on your policy wishlist

[RowanMumsnet]

Over the years, when MNers have got stuck into issues they particularly care about, we've often seen agreement (or something approaching agreement ) around particular policy ideas.

As the May 2015 general election approaches (ish), we’d like to find out what you think about what the next government should do - parenting-related or otherwise. Which commitments would you like to see in the parties’ manifestos? What would make you consider switching your vote (or voting at all, if you don’t currently intend to)? Which issues do you think deserve to be top priority for incoming ministers?

We’ve collectively campaigned on or added our support to others' campaigns around a number of issues, such as:

affordable, available childcare;
better provision of education, health and social services for children with additional needs;
better miscarriage care;
more and better sex and relationships education in schools;
the availability and variety of contraception;
getting sales reps off maternity wards;
flexible working; and
tackling FGM.

Other issues that seem to crop up regularly are bringing down the cost of some school uniforms; and more and/or better-paid parental leave, including paternity leave and bereavement/adjustment leave.

Are there other things Mumsnetters collectively agree on? Are those on the above list still as important to you as they have been? We’d thought we'd throw out this entirely unscientific starter for 10 with a view to informing a more nuanced analysis of each issue and a fuller survey of Mumsnet users in time for, no doubt, the string of ministers and ministerial hopefuls headed our way come early next year when the election campaign gets into full swing.

So please do let us know what you think.

Thanks
MNHQ

[HeartsTrumpDiamonds]

Listen to Mr Carney and build more homes.

Open up family courts.

Mental health funding.

More women in boardrooms and politics, although I'm not convinced that quotas are the way to achieve this.

[MileEndRoad]

A 'hide poster' button .

[Antiopa12]

A complete overhaul of Carers allowance making Caring a more attractive option for family members to take a temporary? break from employment or combine with paid employment. This should help reduce the pressure on the NHS and keep people who are sick and disabled longer in their own homes.

[AintNobodyHereButUsKittens]

As a Londoner I feel strongly about air pollution. There's a lot that the government/GLA could do about this, and it's a major health issue for developing children.

[amimagic]

Stop telling parents they can't take their children on holiday, and what they have to give their children to eat (when the parent is often better informed than the people doing the dictating).

Better more affordable childcare.

More access to shared maternity/paternity leave to help reduce the gender pay gap.

[TheGirlOnTheLanding]

Stop the privatisation of the NHS.
Control rents private landlords charge instead of capping housing benefit.
Do something to control spiralling house prices instead of encouraging the inflation of prices by so-called help to buy policy.
Take Royal Mail and the railways back into public ownership so profit can be reinvested rather than paid to shareholders.

[TheDayOfMyDoctor]

I'd like political parties to understand the difference between early years education and childcare and recognise that if they want to help working parents with the latter then they need to consider school age children year round not just term time.

Mostly I'd really like them to focus on ensuring all our state funded schools provide a fantastic education and extra-curricular activities for all our children.

[Doinmummy]

Tackle benefit fraud.

[EduardoBarcelona]

KEEP YOU BIG BEAKY NOSES OUT OF EDUCATION AND REMEMBER JUST BECAUSE YOU WENT TO SCHOOL IT DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN EXPERT

breathes

[EduardoBarcelona]

Sort out legal aid - your cost cutting is actually slowing down justice ( contrary to CJSSS initiative) and making a fair trial impossible for the poor. so much for progress.

[EduardoBarcelona]

i would also like a law that:
men cannot be topless in the summer EW
and that everyone learns the difference between LESS and FEWER..
looks at folk on this thread

That red pens should be compulsory in all marking in all schools.
That people shouldnt smoke in cars EW - how is that naice or even safe?

[kinsorange]

Please please please, sort out the inequality between rich and poor. How far will all parties let it go?

[ILoveCoreyHaim]

Apprenticeships
social housing builds
youth clubs
change the school holidays/longer hours

[ILoveCoreyHaim]

Abolish BSL and amend the DDA
Make animals shelters no kill
bring back the dog licence

[ThisBitchIsResting]

Stop privatising the NHS
Stop privatising schools

Undo privatising Royal Mail
Undo privatising the railways

Stop demonising the poor
Stop demonising the disabled

And sort out making access to GPs in the evenings as quickly as possible. I and about 400 hundred others went to A and E in my local town the other evening, I waited 3 hours - but knew at least that way we could see a doctor at some point. It was a joke.

[Lioninthesun]

FrontForward had my personal bugbear Child maintenance. Stop disbanding the CSA because it's so expensive and ineffective. Make it effective and get child maintenance paid.
If we could stop the normalisation of NRP's running off into the sunset without a backwards glance to DC and leaving RP's financially and emotionally bereft, we could make a real difference to some of the poorest families in our society.

[Lioninthesun]

To add on a bit: If only the CSA used their force and actually repossessed cars and gave out prison/community service sentences they would find very quickly that huge sums of money would come flooding in from all of the NRP supposedly living below minimum wage. It shouldn't take long to enforce and become effective, plus think of all of that lovely tax when all of these parents revert to PAYE because self employment just means they have to pay a tax man to do their returns and doesn't have the same benefits any more?

[SixImpossible]

More teachers, so that class sizes do not have to be so big (more schools!) and teachers less stressed by the burden of work.

Less heavy-handed micro-management of schools and curriculum by government.

More nurses.

More hospital beds.

OOH access to real GPs.

Get rid of Help to Buy - it just props up the ridiculous cost of housing.

Allowing couples to pool allowances/incomes, to avoid ridiculous situations like family income = £60k = no CB yet family income = £88k = full CB.

Remove the cap on NI paid by higher earners.

[tiredandsadmum]

What I would like is

flexible admission for summer borns - saves distress and resources
better diagnosis and provision for children with SEN (ie less chat and pretending to help)
a change in the law so that rich parents cant (continue) to financially bully the poorer partner (ties in with CSA and funding of family courts). Mediation is not always the answer.
a proper watchdog to deal with discrimination and with real penalties.
genuine flexible working for higher paid professionals.

[MrsLeonard]

definitely an overhaul of carers allowance. i once heard something say that paid carers receive roughly £15 an hour for doing their job, but people caring for a family member only receive roughly £15 a day.

also an overhaul of the disability living allowance, this ha one of the lowest rates of fraudulent claims of all the benefits but they are still trying to make it more and more difficult to claim.

more 6th form school places

better funding for disabled children for things like respite care, specialist equipment and other necessary expenses.

sure i can think of other things as well.

[FamiliesShareGerms]

Make long term renting a secure and viable proposition for landlords and tenants

Female quotas on boards etc - I used to hate this approach, but have come to the conclusion that this us the only way the private sector will take notice

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[Selks]

For child mental health services to be adequately resourced so that they could attempt to provide a decent service - HERE

[Delphiniumsblue]

I would like them to drop the idea of privatising child protection services.

[NK5BM3]

Higher aspirations in schools. I get the need to reach out to the lower achievers but that should not be to the detriment of those in the middle or higher levels, it shouldn't be the case of 'oh well, joe is capable, mum and dad seem educated, we can let him sort himself out.' I absolutely despair at this attitude.

[EduardoBarcelona]

its not a common attitude

SIGH AT TEACHER BASHING AGAIN