Jeremy Corbyn suffers backlash after Mumsnet users accuse him of dodging tough questions in favour of 'fluff'

Web users branded the session a 'disappointment' and a 'piss take' after the leader failed to give more answers

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn before the live TV debate (Getty)

Jeremy Corbyn has suffered a backlash from users of the Mumsnet website who accused him of dodging tough questions in favour of “fluffy” ones.

After the site’s live webchat with the Labour leader finished, one user said he had “just responded to a few arse lick comments” while another branded the event “a piss take”.

It came just hours after Mr Corbyn endured an awkward BBC interview which saw him struggle to set out how much one of his key childcare policies would cost.

The Mumsnet webchat lasted under half an hour and saw the Labour leader pick around ten questions from hundreds put by users.

Following the session, which involved the leader giving answers on shortbread and advice he would give to his younger self, one user wrote: “Does he think we are all little women thinking about biscuits, jam and staying at home with our kids.

“Certainly looks like it.”

Several agreed that the session was a “a disappointment”, with one adding: “There were a lot of questions here that I would have liked him to touch on. Feels like a bit of a piss-take to be honest.”

A handful had wanted the Labour leader to address the issue of anti-Semitism.

Mr Corbyn did also give answers to questions on the living wage, taxation, Donald Trump and the cost of childcare.

There were also a string of positive comments from supporters on the site, with some offering Mr Corbyn their vote, saying he was impressive and had come across well in Monday’s TV election debate.

One said: “I joined up [to Labour] inspired by Jeremy Corbyn that parliamentary politics can make a difference.”

Another wrote: “Hi Jeremy, I voted SNP before and at this election I'm voting Labour, thanks to you. Please don't give up.”

A spokesperson said: “Jeremy answered a range of questions from Mumsnet users, including on Brexit, childcare and tax. His campaign schedule meant he was able to spend half an hour at Mumsnet Towers and he enjoyed engaging with people via the web chat.”

A few hours earlier the Labour leader appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour to launch his party’s policy of providing 30 hours of free childcare for all pre-school children.

The policy would cost £5.3 billion a year, according to the party’s costings document, but Mr Corbyn could not recall the figure in an uncomfortable interview.

After failing to answer the question twice host Emma Barnett accused him of not knowing it, before telling the programme’s listeners: “You’re logging into your iPad there.”

She then said: “Is this not the issue with the Labour Party which came up under Gordon Brown, that we cannot trust you with our money?”

Barnett added: “You’re holding your manifesto, you’re flicking through it, you’ve got an iPad there, you’ve had a phone call while we’re in here and you don’t know how much it’s going to cost?”

When Mr Corbyn asked if the questioning could come back to it later, Barnett hit back: “What, when you’ve looked it up?”

He eventually said: “The important thing is that all children get a chance to grow up together. At the moment we have a system which separates out, in the sense that a child of wealthy parents may well be able to go to a paid-for pre-school and nursery facility. Others will not get that chance because parents can’t afford it. Or if they’re poorer will get a free place.”

The Labour leader’s interview came after what many supporters saw as a successful night on the Sky/Channel 4 live TV debate.

But it also brought back memories of his shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott’s car crash interview over Labour’s plans to put thousands more police officers on to Britain’s streets.