Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Women MPS faced with heckling and contempt from men
Rosie Duffield has argued that misogyny is still prevalent in Parliament – and she gets mistaken for a secretary in Westminster on a regular basis.
The Labour MP for Canterbury was speaking in the week which marked the 100th anniversary of women being given the right to vote.
But in that same week there was an angry clash in the Commons between Labour’s Emily Thornberry and the Conservative’s David Liddington – both of whom were stepping in for their respective leaders during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQS).
During one exchange Mr Liddington told Ms Thornberry to “grow up” – a barb which saw him later rebuked by Theresa May.
Speaking to Sky News, Ms Duffield said: “It was downright rude.
“Emily Thornberry’s a very confident female MP, so she doesn’t need to be told to grow up by a man on the other side.
“During PMQS there’s a lot of jeering and heckling and that’s sometimes quite unpleasant.
“I know sometimes women are quite shocked by some of the comments from both sides, but mainly from the other side if I’m honest.”
The politician said it was just the latest example of women being patronised in the Commons and claimed sexism is rife in the chamber.
She added: “I’ve had a couple of MPS speaking to male MPS next to me and completely ignoring or dismissing me.
“If I get into a taxi sometimes the driver will say: ‘Are you working in the house as a secretary?’.
“That sort of thing still goes on; it just makes me more determined that we need more women here.”
Ms Duffield also spoke about the fact that Labour is yet to have a female leader, while the Conservatives have had two.
She said: “As Emily Thornberry pointed out, the Tories are keen to tell us they’ve got female leaders but then they stage coups against them and are desperate to get rid of them.”
The 2017 general election saw the number of women in the Commons rise from 191 in 2015 to 208 which equates to 32% of the total number of MPS.