So why do we put up with it? Nine out of ten of us believe the political culture of Westminster is sexist; only 15% of us view parliament as family friendly; over a third of us declare ourselves disillusioned with the entire political system. Yet, of the 1,200 women who completed Mumsnet's Political Culture in the UK survey, not one of us has yet thought “sod it” and revived the Gunpowder Plot. It seems – for now – we're simply resigned.
Revolution seems attractive when it's Russell Brand discussing it, all vague principles and puppy dog eyes. In the cold light of day, when you've noses to wipe, mouths to feed, jobs to hold on to and dishes to wash, it's another matter. It's not that we can't summon up anger at injustice, it's just that we're very, very tired. And besides, when you watch PMQs – when you see grown men talking over one another, braying and shouting, while policies which have the power to ruin lives are tossed back and forth like sticky buns in an Eton food fight – you end up thinking “what's the point? Just what is the point of resistance when they can behave like this in public, at work, and it's no longer even shocking?” It seems the normal rules just don't apply.
What comes through most clearly in this year’s survey is that in the eyes of respondents, parliament remains what it always was: an institution created by and for wealthy men. We see that the place is rampantly sexist; we know that women are grossly under-represented; we notice how badly MPs conduct themselves when supposedly representing their constituents; most of us suspect that it is whom you know, not what you know, that gets you to the top. It is not surprising, therefore, that the majority of us would not consider standing for parliament or as a local councillor. What's the point of playing a game in which anyone without a penis, a trust fund and a dutiful wife is almost certainly bound to lose?
Only 1% of us would agree that “politics is effective and serves the British people well”. I think this disillusionment is rational, given growing inequality and deprivation in a nominally wealthy country. My fear is that our disillusionment will be interpreted in the way it's always interpreted: as women in general, and mums in particular, not “liking” politics and being “turned off” by it. Ever so subtly, the narrative gets twisted until it ends up being our fault. Politics is not “our thing”. It's not that a system that was set up for a tiny minority is failing the majority; it's that we have somehow failed to toughen up to meet its demands. Don't like politics? Never mind, dear. Back to the kitchen sink.
63% of us think that having more women in top political jobs would mean politicians had a greater understanding of our concerns. I am not so sure. As a child growing up in the eighties, I liked the fact that we had a female prime minister. I knew nothing of her politics (indeed, I actually believed Thatcher was married to Labour leader Michael Foot and that the two worked as a duo) but the fact that she was female meant something. I still think this of female MPs now. I am neither romantic nor essentialist about “feminine” qualities. I know female MPs let women down, and I am not surprised they do so within a culture so cruel, macho and unforgiving. Nonetheless, to put oneself out there in that heartless, misogynistic culture, and then to be reported on by a media that casually reduces you to “Blair Babes” and “Cameron Cuties”, takes some guts. If we can learn something from our female MPs, it's perhaps not bleeding heart kindness, but just how strong women can be.
Right now I can picture MPs and their advisors scouring the Mumsnet survey, not with a view to making structural changes for the benefit of all, but with an eye to winning “the Mumsnet vote”. We Mumsnetters are, of course, influential, and so we should be. Women make up more than half the electorate and as for children – well, everyone's a child at some stage (even the likes of Nigel Farage). We matter, although the importance of the Mumsnet voter (stereotyped as a middle-class mother who won't be embodied by any woman reading this on Mumsnet right now) tends to overshadow the importance of the Mumsnet mum – that person who's around long after the ballot papers have been counted and who's still waiting for a real value to be placed on the work she does.
I can't see us being fully appreciated until there is a significant transformation in how parliament, and workplaces in general, accommodates “the breeding class”. We are not an added extra. We are not babes and cuties in waiting, temporarily out of service while we raise the next generation of voters. If the home of political decision-making cannot find space for people like us, what faith can we have in decisions made on our behalf?
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Guest post: 'Women are rightly disillusioned with politics - but it's worth fighting for change'
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MumsnetGuestPosts · 24/06/2014 12:25
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