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| Liz Kendall stands by sexism claims against Falconer | Liz Kendall stands by sexism claims against Falconer |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Labour leadership contender Liz Kendall has defended her criticism of Charles Falconer after claiming that comments he made about the leadership race had sexist undertones. | The Labour leadership contender Liz Kendall has defended her criticism of Charles Falconer after claiming that comments he made about the leadership race had sexist undertones. |
| Kendall hit out at Lord Falconer on Friday, accusing him of making a “gross insult” by dismissing the contribution of women to the Labour party. | Kendall hit out at Lord Falconer on Friday, accusing him of making a “gross insult” by dismissing the contribution of women to the Labour party. |
| It came after Falconer, the shadow lord chancellor and prominent supporter of Andy Burnham, told the Times that neither Kendall nor Yvette Cooper were up to the challenge of the job. | It came after Falconer, the shadow lord chancellor and prominent supporter of Andy Burnham, told the Times that neither Kendall nor Yvette Cooper were up to the challenge of the job. |
| Related: This slur on my opinion of the Labour leadership is wrong on every level | Charles Falconer | Related: This slur on my opinion of the Labour leadership is wrong on every level | Charles Falconer |
| The print article appeared under the headline: “Women ‘not tough enough’ to lead Labour’’, which Falconer later said was inaccurate and did not reflect his comments. | The print article appeared under the headline: “Women ‘not tough enough’ to lead Labour’’, which Falconer later said was inaccurate and did not reflect his comments. |
| Writing for the Guardian on Saturday, Falconer said: “The headline was wrong at every level. It suggests I said the words in inverted commas in the headline. I didn’t (and nobody else in the article did either). And the headline suggests I think that women are not tough enough to lead the Labour party. That is not my view and I said nothing that suggested it was. The storm has been caused by the inaccurate headline.” | Writing for the Guardian on Saturday, Falconer said: “The headline was wrong at every level. It suggests I said the words in inverted commas in the headline. I didn’t (and nobody else in the article did either). And the headline suggests I think that women are not tough enough to lead the Labour party. That is not my view and I said nothing that suggested it was. The storm has been caused by the inaccurate headline.” |
| The Times later changed the headline to: “Women in Labour leader race ‘not up to challenge’”. | The Times later changed the headline to: “Women in Labour leader race ‘not up to challenge’”. |
| Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Kendall accepted that the original headline on the Falconer Times article had been wrong, but stuck by her criticism of him. | Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Kendall accepted that the original headline on the Falconer Times article had been wrong, but stuck by her criticism of him. |
| “I based it on what he actually wrote,” she said. “He said that myself and Yvette weren’t up to the challenge of leading or uniting the party, and I think that’s just plain wrong. He only picked out the two women.” | “I based it on what he actually wrote,” she said. “He said that myself and Yvette weren’t up to the challenge of leading or uniting the party, and I think that’s just plain wrong. He only picked out the two women.” |
| A spokesperson for Burnham said: “The quotes attributed to Charlie Falconer in the headline of the Times are not something he said or believes. People should read Charlie’s article to see he doesn’t even raise the question of whether anyone is ‘tough enough’ or anyone’s gender.” | A spokesperson for Burnham said: “The quotes attributed to Charlie Falconer in the headline of the Times are not something he said or believes. People should read Charlie’s article to see he doesn’t even raise the question of whether anyone is ‘tough enough’ or anyone’s gender.” |
| Kendall rejected fresh calls for her to step out of the leadership race, to help either Burnham or Cooper beat Jeremy Corbyn. “There are still many Labour party members who are undecided,” she said. “I’m not as well known as the other candidates. But every single day when I go around the country I am making the case - and I’m going to do that till the very end. | Kendall rejected fresh calls for her to step out of the leadership race, to help either Burnham or Cooper beat Jeremy Corbyn. “There are still many Labour party members who are undecided,” she said. “I’m not as well known as the other candidates. But every single day when I go around the country I am making the case - and I’m going to do that till the very end. |
| “I think I’m the only candidate other than Jeremy Corbyn who is setting out an alternative from where we’ve been over the last five or eight years. If we stick with that politics we won’t win again and we won’t be able to put our principles into practice. You never stop fighting for what you believe in and I will continue to make that case.” | “I think I’m the only candidate other than Jeremy Corbyn who is setting out an alternative from where we’ve been over the last five or eight years. If we stick with that politics we won’t win again and we won’t be able to put our principles into practice. You never stop fighting for what you believe in and I will continue to make that case.” |
| Aspokesperson for Corbyn’s campaign said Kendall was right to reject calls for her to withdraw from the leadership race: “Liz Kendall represents a body of opinion in the party that is as entitled as any to a voice in this contest ... All strands of opinion must be heard and Liz should remain in the race.” | |
| Asked who she would encourage Labour members to vote for as their second preference, Kendall said she would not make a second preference choice herself. | |
| On Friday, Cooper made separate criticisms of sexism surrounding the leadership contest. | On Friday, Cooper made separate criticisms of sexism surrounding the leadership contest. |
| “Andy’s campaign seem to be calling for Liz and I to bow out and leave it to the boys, or suggesting that somehow women aren’t strong enough to do the top jobs,” she told the Guardian. | “Andy’s campaign seem to be calling for Liz and I to bow out and leave it to the boys, or suggesting that somehow women aren’t strong enough to do the top jobs,” she told the Guardian. |
| “Liz has been asked about her weight, I’ve been asked – on [BBC Radio 4’s] Woman’s Hour of all places – about whether I can possibly do this job because of my husband, and any talk about me being a working mum has been used as a sexist way to divide Liz and I, and criticise Liz for not having children.” | “Liz has been asked about her weight, I’ve been asked – on [BBC Radio 4’s] Woman’s Hour of all places – about whether I can possibly do this job because of my husband, and any talk about me being a working mum has been used as a sexist way to divide Liz and I, and criticise Liz for not having children.” |
| She said she believed the campaign for equality had stalled. | She said she believed the campaign for equality had stalled. |
| “Disability hate crime is growing, maternity discrimination has increased, homophobic bullying isn’t being challenged, anti-semitism and Islamophobia have increased. Meanwhile the new emerging high tech jobs of the digital age are being predominantly done by men, and there is still a longstanding problem of a lack of black and ethnic minority police.” | “Disability hate crime is growing, maternity discrimination has increased, homophobic bullying isn’t being challenged, anti-semitism and Islamophobia have increased. Meanwhile the new emerging high tech jobs of the digital age are being predominantly done by men, and there is still a longstanding problem of a lack of black and ethnic minority police.” |