Kelly’s Eye

YES, Jeremy Corbyn’s use of the phrase “stupid woman” about Theresa May under his breath last week was crass. And his denial afterwards that those were the words he’d uttered was pathetic.

David Cameron’s “Calm down, dear!” to Labour’s Angela Eagle in 2011 was more patronising. Corbyn’s “stupid woman” seemed more a muttered exclamation of exasperation, if he’s to be given any benefit of the doubt, and perhaps betrayed his age too.

Kenneth Clarke, who’s only a few years older, once described May in another unguarded moment as “a bloody difficult woman”. Mind you, the PM has happily worn that equally gender-specific observation as a badge of honour ever since. But the most outlandish feature of the whole sorry episode was the confected outrage and faux horror that greeted Corbyn’s muffled oath.

May took to the Despatch Box to urge everyone to be “encouraging women to get involved in politics” by using “appropriate language”. Absolutely.

But if being called “stupid” offends your sensibilities so deeply, might I suggest you are rather too delicate a wallflower for the cutand-thrust of politics?

The idea that the women of my late mum’s generation, or nearly all my female colleagues over the years in newspaper journalism, might be deterred by what Corbyn said, or unable to cut him off at the knees with a few choice words, is… well… stupid.