Parly is too tough on mums and too toxic for women
MSP hits out over travel time and trolls
Scotland’s Finance Secretary said women are being forced out of politics by social media trolls and a Parliament that’s not family friendly.
Kate Forbes’ ex plosive comments come just a week after we told how Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell was quitting to spend more time with her children, and MSP Gail Ross was leaving because of online abuse and struggling to balance family life.
After the Sunday Mail revelations, an influential Holyrood committee said it would now consider remote proxy voting that could allow MSPs to work from home.
Forbes, who became Scotland’s youngest ever and first female Finance Secretary at the age of 29, has made a major intervention on the debate over the challenges being faced by women in politics.
She said: “Why people think it’s necessary to comment on how I look or how I walk or anything else, when it doesn’t change how I think or how I do my job, is anybody’s guess.
“It’s important that you win arguments and you win debates by the strength of your argument and not your personal attacks or your offensive comments.
“You can’t complain about it if you don’t change the way you do politics yourself.”
Forbes, who represents Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, one of Scotland’s most northerly constituencies, added: “The hardest challenge in politics is the travel, the lack of routine – and I know that’s the same for other jobs as well.
“It takes me four- and- a-half hours to get home every week and that doesn’t include the travel across the constituency, which is huge.
“There’s a lot of travel and a lot of irregular hours and clearly it makes it very difficult for women with kids.
“It’ s not family friendly for those who cannot get home on a daily basis. I think there’s more that we can do.”
Forbes added that more should be done to use technology to benef it those in rural constituencies.
Caithness politician Ross revealed last week that the Scottish Parliament dismissed her calls for parents in far-flung constituencies to be allowed to vote remotely and make better use of video-conferencing.
The standards, procedures and public appointments committee’s new proxy voting proposals would allow one MSP to vote on behalf of another for a specified reason.
Committee convener Bill Kidd MSP said: “There has clearly been much discussion over the past few weeks about the need for the Parliament to reflect on how it operates and proxy voting has been suggested as one step to address these concerns.”
The scheme has been backed by a number of high-profile MSPs.
Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said: “We need more women MSPs and more diversity in our Parliament so that we can be truly representative.
“Scottish Parliament chiefs and political parties should be looking at their own policies and working cultures to see why women are standing down and why some are put of f running for office altogether.
“Proxy voting and remote voting could ensure MSPs can still make crucial decisions, while also being present to deal with urgent constituency issues or to deal with caring responsibilities or a family crisis.”
Jenny Marra MSP added: “It’s good Parliament is consulting on this.
“There is a window of opportunity here to make some reforms that could really improve the way we work.”
Ross and Campbell will both stand down at the 2021 election.
It’s not family friendly for those who can’t get home on a daily basis