to not feel a bit sorry for Nadine Dorries..

[LDNmummy]

Did anyone else watch Dorries be humiliated by Cameron today in his usual bully boy's club tactics?

Video and article here

[LDNmummy]

with in his usual bully boy's club tactics?

[KAZAMM]

she got defeated massively but was on the news saying she was claiming a victory. Deluded much?

[KAZAMM]

she got defeated massively but was on the news saying she was claiming a victory. Deluded much?

[pineapple70]

I am just so disappointed that this is who supposedly runs our country - someone who thinks it is clever to use schoolboy innuendo and quote from an annoying insurance ad. Public school prick. As for Dorries, couldn't care less - she's awful.

[ChairOfTheBored]

I don't have an awful lot of sympathy with her views (v little indeed in fact) but the fact remains she is an elected representative, and she should be treated with respect by her peers, even when they are disagreeing with her.

By all means point out the flaws in her argument and your objection to her views, but to dismiss her with a 'silly little woman' type response does her, the House and the issue a disservice.

[ChairOfTheBored]

smallwhitecat well no, it isn't, obviously. It's not about rules, it's about seeing women MPs being undermined as being 'emotional' when they raise issues, and dismissed as 'frustrated' and told to 'calm down dear'.

Equally unacceptable are those who dismiss women in politics who display strength as 'bitches' and unreasonable for demonstrating behaviours deemed to be perfectly acceptable in the male counterparts (I''m thinking of the attitudes to Yvette Cooper etc.)

If that's how the Parliamentary process treats women MPs, goodness knows how we expect them to legislate fairly for 50% of the population! (and that goes for all parties, not a cheap jibe at one or t'other)

[pineapple70]

No, smallwhitecat, it's a reference to an attitude towards women that seems to pervade in traditional all male public school settings.

For the record Milliband (imo) is a bit of a prick, albeit one who appears to have a little more respect for women.

[kelly2000]

She ranted on for an hour of an hour and a half debate not letting anyone else speak for ages and made rather wild accusations against a former MP (who she has called Dr death and an abortion and death zealot on her blog) and abortion charities. When she lost she spat the dummy out and said to the prime minister that shouldn't he tell Nick Clegg who was the boss in a very unpelasant tone. people were already laughing at her by the time she finished this, Cameron actually sat down before he first said anything as there was so much laughter. The sexually frustrated theory could equally apply to a man as to a woman, and if he had not gone "er, I mean, er" after he said frustrated no-one would have thought anything of it if he had said he understood she was frustrated. There have also been plenty of instancs when male Mps have been laughed at.
i did not think anyone was laughing at Dorries for being a woman, but for being a fool and almost having a tantrum in the house of commons. At the end of the day of Dorries wants to be taken seriously she needs to stop acting like she does, and making wild accusations here there and everywhere. She lost the vote, tough luck, sulking and demanding Nick Clegg gets told who is boss was undignified and worthy of ridicule.

[kelly2000]

I think Dorries herself was far more disrespectful of women than Cameron was. Cameron and Clegg may have laughed at a ridiculous person who happened to be a woman, but they did not vote for this patronizing legislation, she however did.

[substantiallycompromised]

I loathe the mysogynism of the HofC and the boys club atmosphere but in Cameron's defence, if you actually watched what happened, he used an unfortunate turn of phrase and it was everyone's reaction around him that caused him to behave in the way he did. I think he gave up so as not to prolong the innuendo.

Not saying it was right or pleasant but I don't think he deliberately set out to insult her in that way (she had worked on the amendment to the bill for six years and she was frustrated by what she deemed to be the Tories capitulating to the Lib Dems on the matter and he started off by trying to acknowledge exactly that).

He apparently rung her up afterwards to apologise. She in turn was quite sensible and gracious about the incident on Newsnight when I watched it for two mins just now.

I know that doesn't excuse everyone's reaction around him though but I don't think he was personally to blame.

[LDNmummy]

The way I see it, she was being incredibly out of order in her comments regarding Clegg (I don't like him BTW) and sadly her own peers mocked her.

She put herself in a terrible position and she should know well enough the attitude of her own lot.

[Iggly]

Unfortunately this incident (which happened before the debate) and the "calm down dear" doesn't really paint DC in the best light.

PMQs is all about one up man ship, it seems a bit pathetic in this day an age TBH! they all play the game - unfortunately DC is the PM so higher standards apply to him.

[NotADudeExactly]

Well, it is sexist. Patronizing and humiliating. And I can't see it happening to a man.

That having been said: I have a hard time feeling sorry for the horrible Dorries over anything at all, so my outrage will have to be limited to the abstract level.

[limitedperiodonly]

WRT respect of MPs for one of their number, there are MPs and there are MPs and then there is Nadine Dorries.

Cameron was right to slap her down. I wish he had done it in a different way but then that's his style.

[EldritchCleavage]

What NotADude said.

[Iggly]

So what if Nadine was expressing views that most disagree with? She has the right to do so. I thought she was wrong but good on her for trying.

The fact is, DC was inadvertently rude and his attitude to women isn't really showing as one of respect. Look how he treated Caroline Spelman when it came to the forest fiasco...?

[WidowWadman]

So a man couldn't be 'frustrated'? Isn't the real sexism in the heads of those who accuse him of having done a sexist remark which has nothing to do with gender?

[JosieRosie]

What NotaDudeExactly said

[kelly2000]

Widowwadman,
I agree the frustrated comment could equally apply to a man. And if people had not already been laughing at her, it would not have been an issue. Saying I understand you are frustrated, but ..." is not sexist or a put down. It is just that everyone laughed after he said frustrated.
And I think she was extremely rude throughout, both by hogging the speaking time (which, I seem to think she hinted at doing on her blog, but I could be mistaken), accusing a former Lib dem of blackmail, and then telling David Cameron needed to show Nick Clegg who was boss.

Imagine if Nick Clegg had been a woman, and Dorries a man, surely the "show them who is boss" comment could have been construed as sexist in that context.

[seeker]

Cameron would be a prick whatever school he went to. Calling him a public school prick merely helps to identify him. Although there is q particular type of prickishness that does seem to be exclusive to public school boys- and which he does exemplify.

Interestingly, Ed Milliband isn't a prick. And probably wouldn't be even if he had gone to public school. He is...can't quite think of the word. Dork, maybe? Prat?


Nadine Dorries is beneath contempt. And will, I hope, go back to whatever slime-world she emerged from.

[Empusa]

I think the choice of words was wrong, however I can't blame them for laughing at her daft comments.

From another angle "show them who is boss" is a pathetically childish thing to say. So IMO they are all as useless at having an adult debate as each other, and should maybe spend less time trying to outdo each other and more time doing their actual jobs.

[EldritchCleavage]

Ed Miliband is a spod.

[ThePerfectShitStorm]

In grown up world, it should be possible to disagree with Dorries (which I do), and even personally dislike her, without delighting in her public humiliation in the course of her job, in the place of her employment, by a bunch of juvenile wankers who treat their workplace as a glorified frat house.

She conducted herself badly and asked a stupid question. So what? Everyone else has to stoop to her level?

How many of us would accept this sort of behaviour in our place of work?

[sue52]

Maybe if Cameron had attended a comprehensive school he would be a prick with less of a sense of entitlement. Nadine Dorries is a female MP but she's certainly no sister.