The “Pestminster” scandal may have been 5 years ago, but the last 4 days show how little has changed when it comes to the harassment of Britain’s female politicians

The “Pestminster” scandal may have been 5 years ago, but the last four days shows how little has changed when it comes to the harassment of Britain’s female politicians

Credit: Getty

News


The “Pestminster” scandal may have been 5 years ago, but the last 4 days show how little has changed when it comes to the harassment of Britain’s female politicians

By Amy Beecham

3 years ago

1 min read

Five years after the “Pestminster” scandal in the wake of #MeToo, female politicians in Britain still face a toxic culture of misogyny and abuse. 

The culture of sexism and misogyny within British politics continues to fall under scrutiny after a female minister reported seeing a male colleague watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons.

The Independent reported that the minister complained about the incident to the Commons’ chief whip, Chris Heaton-Harris, at a meeting of a new group for female MPs and peers – known as the 2022 – on 26 April. A second senior female MP is said to have also raised similar concerns about the male MP.

It comes after a string of female Tory party MPs complained to the whips about sexism and misogyny within its rank.

The Labour party has also faced allegations of misconduct this week, as a female Welsh MP told BBC Wales about lewd comments allegedly made to her by a member of the shadow cabinet.

She claimed to have been described by the shadow minister as a “secret weapon” because “women want to be her friend and men want to **** her”.

In a statement, a Labour party spokesman told Stylist: “The Labour Party takes all complaints extremely seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”

Research by Amnesty International found that women in politics already face an extraordinary amount of abuse on social media, with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women MPs far more likely to receive abusive tweets than their white colleagues.

In 2019, a group of female MPs told The Guardian that “abuse is virtually constant” and comes not just from the general public, but the media.

While press freedom and the ability to report news without being controlled by the government is a tenet of a working democracy, when specific groups find themselves as near-constant targets, the culture behind it must be questioned. 

A male MP watching porn in parliament may just be the tip of Westminster’s misogyny iceberg, and what action will come from the ongoing investigations into misconduct remains to be seen. We can only hope it brings some justice to those impacted and helps to make politics fairer, safer and better for women.

On Sunday, The Sunday Times reported that three Conservative cabinet ministers and two Labour shadow cabinet ministers were facing allegations of sexual misconduct.

They are among 56 MPs who have been referred to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, a parliamentary watchdog, in relation to 70 separate complaints, which range from making sexually inappropriate comments to more serious wrongdoing, the paper said.

At least one complaint is believed to involve allegations of criminality and that an MP “bribed a member of staff in return for sexual favours”.

Just a day before, the prime minister and other key figures across the political spectrum spoke out against a “sexist smear campaign” directed at Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader. In a widely criticised piece, the Mail On Sunday reported she had tried to distract Boris Johnson in the House of Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs, a claim a spokesperson for Rayner dismissed as “categorically untrue”.

The article prompted outrage about the misogynistic treatment of women in politics, and led to the Mail On Sunday’s editor, David Dillon, being called to meet with Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House, which Dillon rejected via a story on the Mail’s front page on Monday.

A male MP watching porn in parliament may just be the tip of Westminster’s misogyny iceberg, and what action will come from the ongoing investigations into misconduct remains to be seen

The culture of misogyny within the country’s most influential institution was reawakened in 2018 with the“Pestminster” scandal that uncovered allegations of bullying and harassment in the wake of #MeToo.

At the time, Michael Fallon resigned from then-prime minister Theresa May’s cabinet over allegations of inappropriate behaviour, a cross-party committee was created to lead cultural change and a phone line was set up for people to report allegations of wrong-doing.

However, what remains clear is that five years on – and on both sides of the political bench – a toxic atmosphere of misogyny prevails and not enough is being done about it.

Stylist also reached out to Conservative party spokespeople for comment but had not received a response at the time of writing. 

Images: Getty

Sign up for the latest news and must-read features from Stylist, so you don’t miss out on the conversation.

By signing up you agree to occasionally receive offers and promotions from Stylist. Newsletters may contain online ads and content funded by carefully selected partners. Don’t worry, we’ll never share or sell your data. You can opt-out at any time. For more information read Stylist’s Privacy Policy

Thank you!

You’re now subscribed to all our newsletters. You can manage your subscriptions at any time from an email or from a MyStylist account.