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| Sexual harassment: MPs in no hurry to wash dirty linen in public | Sexual harassment: MPs in no hurry to wash dirty linen in public |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| No cabinet minister makes a virtue of knowing less than Andrea Leadsom does, which made her the ideal person to speak on sexual harassment | |
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| Mon 30 Oct 2017 19.20 GMT | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 14.37 GMT | |
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| At times like these it can be useful to have a cabinet minister who knows next to nothing about anything. And no cabinet minister makes a virtue of knowing less than Andrea Leadsom. That made the leader of the house the ideal person to speak on behalf of the government in answer to an urgent question on sexual harassment in parliament from Labour’s Harriet Harman. | At times like these it can be useful to have a cabinet minister who knows next to nothing about anything. And no cabinet minister makes a virtue of knowing less than Andrea Leadsom. That made the leader of the house the ideal person to speak on behalf of the government in answer to an urgent question on sexual harassment in parliament from Labour’s Harriet Harman. |
| “The public expects MPs to conform to the highest standards,” Leadsom said. It really doesn’t. The public is far more realistic than that. It just expects them to behave with a modicum of decency, something rather too many MPs are all too often unable to do. “We must demonstrate accountability, honesty and openness to show we are serious in our treatment of wrongdoing.” | “The public expects MPs to conform to the highest standards,” Leadsom said. It really doesn’t. The public is far more realistic than that. It just expects them to behave with a modicum of decency, something rather too many MPs are all too often unable to do. “We must demonstrate accountability, honesty and openness to show we are serious in our treatment of wrongdoing.” |
| And that was just about the last we heard of accountability, honesty and openness for the rest of the session. For the most part, it was as if the proceedings were taking part in a vacuum, away from the widespread allegations of abuse within all parties that had been widely reported the previous weekend. So there was not a single mention of the list of the 36 Tory MPs, including two cabinet ministers, who have been named as sexual harassers by people working in parliament. | And that was just about the last we heard of accountability, honesty and openness for the rest of the session. For the most part, it was as if the proceedings were taking part in a vacuum, away from the widespread allegations of abuse within all parties that had been widely reported the previous weekend. So there was not a single mention of the list of the 36 Tory MPs, including two cabinet ministers, who have been named as sexual harassers by people working in parliament. |
| With Labour also in no hurry to wash its own dirty linen in public, a truce had been apparently been called. So there was much talk of a culture that needed to be changed and of a new improved confidential hotline to allow people to report abuse, but absolutely nothing about what each party was going to do with the MPs with previous who were already well known to its whips. | With Labour also in no hurry to wash its own dirty linen in public, a truce had been apparently been called. So there was much talk of a culture that needed to be changed and of a new improved confidential hotline to allow people to report abuse, but absolutely nothing about what each party was going to do with the MPs with previous who were already well known to its whips. |
| It was as if parliament had declared its own Year Zero. What had happened in the past should stay in the past. Not forgotten exactly, but certainly barely remembered. The most important thing was to focus on getting things right now, on changing the culture and practices at Westminster to make sure that any future allegations were properly dealt with. Conservative Rachel Maclean argued it would be helpful if new MPs were given guidance on employing staff. Who could have guessed that trading jobs for sexual favours might be a no-no? | It was as if parliament had declared its own Year Zero. What had happened in the past should stay in the past. Not forgotten exactly, but certainly barely remembered. The most important thing was to focus on getting things right now, on changing the culture and practices at Westminster to make sure that any future allegations were properly dealt with. Conservative Rachel Maclean argued it would be helpful if new MPs were given guidance on employing staff. Who could have guessed that trading jobs for sexual favours might be a no-no? |
| From time to time, the omertà was broken. The shadow leader of the house, Valerie Vaz, questioned why a minister was being referred for a breach of the ministerial code when he had not been a minister at the time of the allegation – a reference to international trade minister Mark Garnier getting a member of staff to buy sex toys for him – and wanted to know when the prime minister was going to act on other specific points raised in a letter of Labour’s shadow minister for women and equalities. Leadsom replied that Theresa May had “absolutely gripped this issue” but had yet to read the letter – that had been read by almost everyone else in Westminster – so she couldn’t possibly comment. | From time to time, the omertà was broken. The shadow leader of the house, Valerie Vaz, questioned why a minister was being referred for a breach of the ministerial code when he had not been a minister at the time of the allegation – a reference to international trade minister Mark Garnier getting a member of staff to buy sex toys for him – and wanted to know when the prime minister was going to act on other specific points raised in a letter of Labour’s shadow minister for women and equalities. Leadsom replied that Theresa May had “absolutely gripped this issue” but had yet to read the letter – that had been read by almost everyone else in Westminster – so she couldn’t possibly comment. |
| Labour’s Jess Phillips wasn’t overly impressed. On the way into the chamber, she had overheard two male colleagues talking about a witch-hunt. It was all very well talking about the need to stamp out sexual harassment and bullying and creating an environment where people felt able to. But what about the perpetrators? | Labour’s Jess Phillips wasn’t overly impressed. On the way into the chamber, she had overheard two male colleagues talking about a witch-hunt. It was all very well talking about the need to stamp out sexual harassment and bullying and creating an environment where people felt able to. But what about the perpetrators? |
| “The withdrawal of the whip is a possibility,” Leadsom replied. “And the sacking of ministers will be in scope.” The prime minister, who had sat alone looking furious throughout the proceedings, briefly looked up. A reshuffle was the one thing she had been hoping to avoid. A couple of high-profile resignations could potentially bring the government down and a long catalogue of Tory abuse getting out into the open was the last thing she needed. | “The withdrawal of the whip is a possibility,” Leadsom replied. “And the sacking of ministers will be in scope.” The prime minister, who had sat alone looking furious throughout the proceedings, briefly looked up. A reshuffle was the one thing she had been hoping to avoid. A couple of high-profile resignations could potentially bring the government down and a long catalogue of Tory abuse getting out into the open was the last thing she needed. |
| That, though, might be the inevitable outcome as Conservative Tim Loughton pointed out. Just as with the expenses scandal, until the allegations made against specific individuals were made public, then everyone would inevitably imagine that every MP was equally culpable. The process needed to be swift, robust and wholly transparent. | That, though, might be the inevitable outcome as Conservative Tim Loughton pointed out. Just as with the expenses scandal, until the allegations made against specific individuals were made public, then everyone would inevitably imagine that every MP was equally culpable. The process needed to be swift, robust and wholly transparent. |
| Leadsom looked doubtful. Transparency was sometimes best kept opaque. Parliament had done the right thing by talking about its imperfections. Surely that was more than enough for now. | Leadsom looked doubtful. Transparency was sometimes best kept opaque. Parliament had done the right thing by talking about its imperfections. Surely that was more than enough for now. |
| Sexual harassment | |
| The politics sketch | |
| Andrea Leadsom | |
| House of Commons | |
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