Next week, we’ve got Andy Burnham answering your questions in the Labour Uncut crowdsourced interview.
You decide what we put to him, so what should we ask?
Add your questions to the comment thread below this post by 6pm on Sunday.
Tags: Burnham, Labour, Labour leadership
Can you sum up your idea of “aspirational socialism” in one sentence? What does it mean?
Do you support lifting the ban on same-sex marriage?
Clarly your background stands you appart from the other candidates in the field, but how does this show out in the policies you’d look to advance as Labour leader?
Clearly your background stands you appart from the other candidates in the field, but how does this show out in the policies you’d look to advance as Labour leader?
What strategies would you use to enable new and ground-level members to learn the skills to become successful Labour campaigners and activists? I’m thinking along the lines of David Miliband’s 1000 community leaders project, but I think your idea of aspirational socialism covers this important ground too.
How would you organise grassroots so that everyone has the same opportunity to influence local government and make their voices heard according to good ideas and good skills, and not connections?
Hi Andy, I’m impressed by your idea for the national care service, but could you flesh out some of the details (i.e. tax rate, opt out etc)?
Furthermore, my Grandad was one of those unfortunate another to have to sell his home to pay for residential care in the last years of his life. Unfortunately it seems that the legal and financial advice he recieved was both expensive and poorly judged; that is to say it failed to take his medical condition in to account when recommending how to invest themoney freed up from his property sale to pay for care. Do your NCS plans extend to improving the advice open to older people faced with this situation?
My name is Luke Charters-Reid, and I am 14 years of age. I am one of the most passionate Labour supporters you will ever meet. I have been brought up with real values; real values like the Labour Party today. I absolutely love the Labour party, and it is my heart and soul now; I would be honoured to pursue a career in politics as a representative under the Labour Party.
In the general election campaign, I campaigned for Hugh Bayley in York Central; I spent all my free time campaigning here, I did work experience in the constituency office for 3 weeks.
I’m sure anyone involved with Labour in York central will be able to tell you of my enthusiasm, passion and commitment to the Labour cause which I am so proud and fortunate to be a part of.
I have written to the party HQ about party membership age, and I am grateful for the replies I have had. I have joined the Fabian Society and Progress, I am about to join Compass.
I am hopefully going to the annual conference in Manchester, and it has been my dream to attend; now it is a reality. I am privileged to be able to go to the leadership hustings in Birmingham, in a few weeks time- I have been so honoured to have met such inspirational people, from John Prescott to David and Ed Miliband.
I know that you joined the Labour Party when you were 14. You are an absolute inspiration to me, as I aim to follow in your footsteps in the Labour Party, which I love. But what would you do to revitalise the party for Young People, attract young members who are essentially the Labour cabinet in 40 years time. It is shocking for me to hear so little from all 5 labour leadership candidates say so little about Young members.
Will you pledge to increase the international development budget to 1% or do you think 0.7% is high enough?
To me, the most important task of the new leader is to put us in a position to win the next election and then to precipitate it as fast as possible. To that end, I want to know what your plan of action would be between being elected as leader and the 2011 elections.
Specifically, how would you unite the party (members and MPs) behind you after being elected leader? How do you reach out to those who supported your opponents? How will you reflect this in your cabinet appointments? Bonus marks for names here.
How will you appeal to Lib Dems and Lib Dem voters? What will your attitude to Lib Dem MPs who are suspicious of the coalition but in potentially Labour-friendly seats? Do you back their opposition to destabilise the coalition, do you attack them in the hope of beating them at the next election, or do you go the whole hog and try to force defections? Give your reasons too.
What issues do you attack the coalition hardest on? What issues do you hold your fire on? Would that be because of agreement with them, or to restore the party’s image?
How do you plan for the elections in 2011? Do you take a position on the referendum? How strong a position? Do you concentrate on winning back councils, or do you take a broad approach and try to win seats on councils where we currently have no representation, to prove we’re a national party? How much do you nationalise the Welsh and Scottish contests, and how much do you let them do their own thing?
Any other info on what an Andy Burnham leadership would be like in its first months?
Admittedly, that’s over a dozen questions, but I’ll take as many answers as you’re willing to provide.
Would you have supported Alistair Darling’s proposal to raise VAT to help safeguard departmental budgets or would you have done as Ed Balls and opposed a VAT rise at any cost?
To which of your opponents as leader would you give posts in the shadow cabinet and what portfolios would you give any you had on your team. And why? Why would you exclude any of them and which?
Have your super long, and v gorgeous, eyelashes been a help or a hindrance to your political career? x
Hi Andy, as someone in charge of the NHS can you answer
1) Why did you open the door to Tory privatisation by insisting services are outsourced ?
2) What policy of the last government do you feel was the most ‘anti-labour’ one, I think of the Freud/Purnell reforms
Hi Andy, you have talked about ‘career politicians’, what other jobs have you done?
What is your position on votes at 16?
If you could play for Everton in an FA cup final, or become the next Labour Prime Minister which would you chose?
In your opinion should Capello have listened to the fans at the World Cup and gone 4-3-3?
Who is your closest friend in Parliament?
What role do you think your faith would play if you became leader?