A cautionary tale for any woman going into politics
What woman would work in politics right now? This was my single thought as I read that a Tory MP had accused Angela Rayner of deliberately trying to put Boris Johnson “off his stride” in the chamber by crossing and uncrossing her legs whenever they clash at Prime Minister’s Questions, in scenes supposedly reminiscent of Basic Instinct.
Basic is right. Apart from the obvious (the PM really doesn’t need any help when it comes to bungling), this is just another misogynistic slur against a woman whose looks have already attracted a disproportionate amount of attention (given she’s the deputy leader of the Labour Party, not a cover girl, proportionate would be none). And from the Twitter blow-back today, most people agree.
But I happen to be reading Sarah Vaughan’s new thriller, Reputation, at the moment, which is every bit as gripping and tense as Anatomy of a Scandal and describes the downfall of a female MP in a bigoted male world.
It is also a cautionary tale for any woman considering entering politics in the age of social media, and I was just asking myself whether Vaughan hadn’t slightly over-egged the soufflé when I opened a Sunday paper to read about this – a sad confirmation that she hasn’t.