Women MPs bullied and abused in Commons

Jackie Ashley
The British Parliament has two chambers, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. There are 659 members of parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons. Most of them are men but the number of women MPs is increasing all the time. Professor Joni Lovenduski of Birkbeck College, London, and Margaret Moran MP recently published a report called Whose Secretary Are You, Minister?. The report shows that many male MPs have very old-fashioned opinions about women. The authors of the report spoke to 83 women MPs. Many of them said that their male colleagues often made sexist remarks and even made gestures when women MPs were speaking in the House of Commons. When Gillian Shephard arrived in the House of Commons as a new Tory (Conservative) MP in 1987 she was confused when a male Conservative MP called her Betty. “He also called other women MPs Betty,” said Mrs Shephard. "When I said, 'Look, you know my name isn't Betty', he said, 'Ah, but you're all the same, so I call you all Betty because it's easier'." Another woman MP, Barbara Follett, says: "I remember some Conservatives saying sexist things and making gestures every time a Labour woman got up to speak." After Tony Blair’s election win in 1997, 120 new female MPs arrived in the House of Commons, but many of them still had problems. One new MP, Yvette Cooper, says that House of Commons officials did not believe she was an MP. They thought she was a secretary or a researcher. Jackie Ballard, a Liberal Democrat who left parliament at the last election, remembers a well-known Tory MP who always made sexist remarks, "maybe about someone's legs or something like that". The same MP once said, when he was drunk in the House of Commons, that he would like to "make love to" a nearby woman MP. Some male MPs think that women should concentrate on "women's issues", such as health and education. Many women MPs were astonished by the negative reactions of their male colleagues, especially when women MPs got a more senior position. It seems that some male MPs and officials did not want to accept the new Labour women MPs, many of them in their 30s and 40s. Some did not believe that such young women could be members of parliament. Many female MPs say the situation is better now because of the new "family friendly" working hours. But it isn't perfect yet. Sarah Teather, the new Liberal Democrat MP, says: "A lot of people say it's similar to an old boys' club. I think it feels rather more like a teenage public school* - you know, a public school full of teenage boys." Women MPs are really angry that they often do not get any recognition for their successes. They say that they have brought a new feminised agenda to British politics, in particular, the fact that childcare is now an important political issue. They also mention several other successful policies, in particular parental leave.