Hi everyone,
I am delighted that 24,395 of you wrote in with a question for me. The team here looked through them all (hence the slight delay on getting back to you), and pulled out the most frequently-asked for me to answer. My responses are below — I hope they seem fair and right to you.
Thank you for taking the time to get in touch.
Ed
Do you intend to stop exploitative zero-hour contracts? I am on one and it is very stressful never knowing what wages you will get paid or what hours you will have. You don't have a life because you cannot plan anything. — Caitlin, Basingstoke
Ed: Thank you for your question, Caitlin, and I'm sorry you're in this situation. The insecurity that people like you are experiencing is a part of the cost of living crisis, and I'm passionately committed to tackling it. We can't have a situation where people get a text at 5am to tell them whether or not they have work that day. You can't plan, you can't save. We are going to act on this if we win in May. If you work regular hours, you should get a regular contract.
Why do politicians keep awarding themselves huge pay rises, when my husband and I both work for the local authority and have had nothing for years? Did you vote for your huge pay rise? — Karen, Swansea
Ed: You're right to be angry about this, Karen. The pay rise for MPs proposed by the parliamentary standards body is totally unacceptable and I have told them that very clearly. Every minister in a government I lead will have a five per cent pay cut. There is still more to do to get the deficit down and I will ensure that ministers play their part by being paid less.
If Labour gets in at the next election, will you be scrapping the bedroom tax as soon as you take power? As a disabled person on a low income and in a property with more than one bedroom, I find it hard to make ends meet with paying this. — Michael, Greater Manchester
Ed: Yes. I have promised that a Labour government will scrap the bedroom tax, it'll be in our manifesto, and we'll get it done as a priority. It's a cruel Tory policy that hits disabled people especially unfairly.
How are you going to undo the Tory changes to the NHS without destabilising it further and make health care equitable? Thank you. — Jane, Faversham
Ed: The NHS is in crisis. Everyone knows it — even Tory ministers know it. The number of patients waiting longer than four hours in a hospital has more than doubled since 2010 — meaning that last year almost a million patients were left waiting. This hasn't happened by accident, or because of some force of nature. It happened because of decisions this government has taken. They promised no top-down re-organisation of the NHS, then spent billions on one. Labour has rescued the NHS from a crisis of Tory making before, and we're going to do it again. We will recruit 20,000 more nurses and 8,000 more GPs through a "Time To Care" fund, paid for by a Mansion Tax on properties worth over £2 million and a levy on tobacco companies, and we will have a profit cap on the amount private companies can take out of our NHS.
If you do not get an overall majority will you form a coalition partnership with the SNP? — Hilary, Nottingham
Ed: I won't be forming a coalition with the SNP and a government I lead will have no SNP ministers. There are huge differences between Labour and the SNP — on the future of the UK obviously, but also on issues such as fair taxes (we're for fair taxes, the SNP aren't).
What encouragement can you give me that my 23-year-old daughter, who works hard in a low-paid job, that she will ever be able to afford a place of her own? — Alan, Loughborough
Ed: Hi Alan, I understand why you're concerned. House prices keep rising and the dream of home ownership is slipping out of reach for so many young people. Part of the problem is we're just not building enough homes — and under the Tories, the level of house building has fallen to its lowest peacetime rate since the 1920s. The next Labour government will get Britain building 200,000 new homes a year by 2020, including affordable housing and new social homes. We will also make sure renters get a fairer deal by introducing longer-term tenancies and banning rip-off letting fees. I hope this gives you some encouragement that, if we win, a Labour government will put the dream of home ownership back within reach of more young people like your daughter.
When prime minister, how will you enable PMQs not to be the embarrassment it currently is? The behaviour of Labour MPs is every bit as shameful as their Tory counterparts. I cringe each Wednesday watching it. — Martin, West Midlands
Ed: Any prime minister should be under a lot of scrutiny and held to account, but PMQs just doesn't effectively achieve that anymore. I've urged the Speaker of the House of Commons to reform the way we do things, including the option of a public PMQs where the public could hold me to account.
I am stuck as to whether to vote Labour or Lib Dem. I am not interested in past records either, I am looking to the future. Many people fall in an "in-between zone", not poor enough to receive help with living costs, but not rich enough to be able to stay on top of general living costs. How would Labour deal with this? — Zoe, Norfolk
Ed: Hi Zoe, you're absolutely right that the problem in our economy right now is that recovery just isn't reaching working people — just a few at the top. Many working people aren't getting paid enough to be able to stay on top of the bills. Tackling this cost of living crisis will be the key mission of the next Labour government. Unlike the Tories, Labour understand that Britain only succeeds when working families succeed, and that's why only a Labour government can tackle the cost of living crisis. One of the ways we will do this is by freezing your energy bills until 2017 and giving the regulator the power to cut bills this winter so that people can afford to heat their homes. To make sure work pays, we will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, raise the minimum wage to £8, and provide 25 hours free childcare per week for working parents with three or four year olds. We'll also introduce a new, lower 10p starting rate of tax, paid for by scrapping the unfair marriage tax allowance, which will benefit 24 million people on middle and lower incomes. The cost of housing is also a key element in the cost-of-living crisis, and in my answer above to Alan you can see our plans for this. I hope this answers your question.
What are your plans for the young people who are out of work, cannot see a future and are getting very frustrated with life? — Raphia, Enfield
Ed: Thanks for your question, Raphia. We have a plan for young people who have been out of work — we'll guarantee any young person who has been out of work for a year a job. It's called the Jobs Guarantee, and it will do exactly what it says. We have to provide young people with the chance to work, earn and learn new skills — so another key priority is changing the way we train young people. I've spoken before about what I call the 'forgotten 50 per cent' — the young people for whom university isn't the right path. Currently these people, and their talents, are let down by the system. The next Labour government will work with businesses and schools to deliver a revolution in apprenticeships and technical degrees, giving young people new routes into well-paid and secure jobs.
Ed, Why did you enter politics? — Paul, Telford
Ed: It was because of my parents and the values they taught me. As refugees from the Nazis, they taught me that we have a duty to leave the world a better place than we found it and that we cannot shrug our shoulders at injustice. I want Britain to be a country where everyone has the chance to live the life they choose for themselves and their family, where each of us feels a responsibility to look out for one another, and where everyone's voice can be heard.
Hello Ed, I am a first time voter in May and I am a Labour Party member. What do I say, in a nutshell, to my friends about why they should vote Labour? — Ita, Birmingham
Ed: We don't have a nutshell but we do have our pledge card — the five promises we're making to the people of Britain (
http://www.labour.org.uk/pledges" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). In a sentence, though, you could tell them: this government has stood up only for a privileged few; a Labour government will stand up for all. (And thank you for being a Labour member. Our members and supporters are going to make the difference in this election).
Hi Ed, I honestly don't know who I am going to vote for in May. My question to you would be 'why should I vote Labour?' — Pauline, Middlesbrough
Ed: There's a clear choice at this election: between a failing plan, and a better plan for working families. This Tory-led government is taking Britain backwards — working people are £1,600 worse off, life for the next generation is getting harder, and the NHS is in crisis. We know what five more years of the Tories would bring because we've seen the last five years, and in the recent Budget they confirmed plans for extreme spending cuts after the election — which will put our NHS at risk.
The gap between rich and poor is widening all the time, and I believe the economy won't get better until poorer people get a better deal on things. What are your thoughts on this? — John, Huddersfield
Ed: I agree with you. I believe passionately that our country can only succeed when working people succeed. That's very different to the Tory belief that if you help the few at the top, the wealth will trickle down — which history has shown just doesn't work. That's why we want to make work pay and tackle insecurity. There too many people who want stable, full time jobs who are forced to stay on zero-hour or part-time contracts. Too many people in work aren't making enough to pay the bills. That's wrong, and tackling these problems is something that drives me, and will be central not just to this election but to Labour's mission in government.
How are you going to convince the electorate that the economy is safe in Labour's hands? — Karen, Southampton
Ed: Hi Karen, I think the Tories' failure on the economy will speak for itself. David Cameron and George Osborne said they would balance the budget by the end of this Parliament, but they have failed. The first promise on our election pledge card is that a Labour government will balance the books and cut the deficit every year while securing the future of the NHS. Every manifesto commitment that we make will be costed and none will require additional borrowing.
We got plenty of questions on immigration — here are two that show some of the different viewpoints, and below is my answer to both:
Dear Ed, I was really sad when I saw that the Labour Party have begun to take an anti-immigration stance. I really feel that this is a mistake; it is jumping on a bandwagon that was created by the media. Is there any chance that Labour will get the courage to move away from this position? — Angela, Uckfield
Immigration is the biggest concern to a lot of voters, which seems to be why people are looking to UKIP. What are Labour's plans to tackle the problem? — Peter, Gateshead
Ed: Thank you Peter and Angela for your questions. Peter — as you say, lots of people I speak to tell me that immigration is a big concern to them. Angela — I don't believe that it's wrong to control immigration. People have come to Britain from abroad over many generations and have built our businesses, worked in our public services and contributed to our nation's growth — people like my own parents. But we do need controls. In too many instances in recent years, we've seen wages undercut, sometimes by unscrupulous employers exploiting cheap migrant labour. So we will stop that. And we believe that benefits should be earned. So we'll also ensure that people who come here won't be able to claim benefits for at least two years. We also need to strengthen our borders so we can count people in and out and deal with illegal immigration.
Hi Ed, I would really like to know how Labour will be helping small business and new business prosper and grow? How will Labour give real support to struggling business starters? I know from personal experience how hard it is to live day-to-day and pay the bills whilst starting a small business without any financial help. — Garry, Kings Lynn
Ed: Hi Garry — thanks for your question and all the best with your business. Britain's small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and we're going to do several things to help them. Firstly, if we win in May, we're going to cut business rates, and then freeze them in 2016. You'll also benefit from the energy price freeze — I've heard from so many small business owners that energy bills are causing them real problems. We're going to reform the banking system to make sure more small businesses, and entrepreneurs looking to set up businesses, get access to the finance they need. We'll establish a proper British Investment Bank and support a regional banking network to boost lending, and increase competition in the banking sector — we want to see at least two new challenger banks and a market share test to ensure the market stays competitive for the long term. We'll also act to tackle the late payment of small businesses.
Hi Ed, if you could have one superpower what would it be? — Jed, Lincoln
Ed: I've never thought about that! But my two boys, Daniel and Sam, always say that they would love to be able to time travel. So perhaps they could go forward in time, come back, and tell me all about their adventures.