Jessica Butcher, newly appointed to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, criticised #MeToo and said women who suffered discrimination should find a way round it rather than complaining.
First, her comments on #MeToo: “Men have had their careers and reputations ruined overnight by MeToo – some possibly justly, but without any due process, no innocence until proven guilty”
I asked her to name any men who had their reputations unjustly ruined by MeToo
She did not
A CPS report estimated there is one prosecution for a false rape claim out of every 161 rape cases prosecuted. A TUC survey found women were more likely to be victimised as a result of reporting sexual harassment than they were to report a satisfactory outcome to their complaint.
Butcher on discrimination: Even if it was due to discrimination, the most productive reaction to that is not wounded insecurity, go cry to someone about how you might have been gender-discriminated against, but it’s to actually ... the onus to circumvent the situation in some way
This is particularly fascinating, since the EHRC literally exists to tackle inequality and discrimination and periodically intervenes in anti-discrimination lawsuits.
I asked her the following. I did not receive a reply to these specific points.
You may have already seen her comments on Page 3 but if not, here they are:
“Working-class girls have been deprived of jobs that they love such as Page 3 girls and [Formula One] grid girls because other women disapprove of them. What happened to ‘my body, my choice’?”
Then there’s her comments on the gender pay gap. I’m not saying that she seems to think it’s a good thing... but...
Nothing says ‘the left’ quite like the left treating a very possible victory like an abject defeat
ngl I spent all night watching CNN and frankly that seems to have left me in a much better mood than everyone who spent the night doomscrolling through this pit of mutual despair
Obv if Trump does win, that is an unmitigated disaster
The sheer shock of actions actually having consequences for members of the political class.
There is, I suppose, a question of the precise grounds on which he has been suspended, and whether they can form grounds for a more permanent severance.
After all, Starmer would look ridiculous if he had to back down. Having alienated the left, he’d just alienate everyone else.
As @jamesjohnson252 says, this will define Starmer in the eyes of the public, mostly favourably (‘strong’, ‘decisive’).
You’d have to think there’ll be a left wing breakaway party. But the history of the Socialist Labour Party and Respect bodes very badly for it.
I've been thinking through how a Corbyn government would have handled the coronavirus pandemic, and whether he would have done a better job of it than Boris Johnson.
TLDR: Almost certainly yes - but with caveats /1
First, it's important to consider the circumstances of a Corbyn government after GE19 - almost certainly a minority government, with some loose arrangement with the SNP and/or LDs, and with a great deal of wariness from many Labour MPs.
That imposes certain constraints /2
In addition, much of the right wing press would remain completely hostile, and other sections of the media would remain suspicious. There would be outright communists likely occupying positions of power as advisors. This would not be quietly accepted b opponents /3