Kemi Badenoch knows what a woman is.

Her policies will do much more harm than good and luckily some of us aren’t so blinkered that we will blindly nod and say yes because of her race and sex and the fact she doesn’t like trans people.

@aanystropheus, I had not heard about that. But before nurses had to have degrees we had State registered nurses and state enrolled nurses. The former had to have higher qualifications. Both used to get on the job training by Sisters on a ward. Given we have a nurse shortage I like the idea of some nurses training on the job. Some candidates might not be able to commit 3 years to a degree and need to start earning from day 1. They should not be denied a career in nursing.

I think all the Tory candidates have learnt that knowing what a woman is, is going to win them votes from quite a lot of floating voters and the disenfranchised from the more left wing parties. I think more of middle of the road Tories like Rishi would also stand up for women’s rights.

Hideous views and I have a horrible feeling many MPs backing her for not exactly the right reasons. I think they think she will attract a younger vote because she is black. She won't, because regardless of whether she'd black, white, mixed race or whatever- her views will not appeal to most younger people.

But thousands of women have also been harrassed and assaulted for being women. So I don't see that as an argument against keeping their protections.

Trans people need protections too. But not at the expense of women.

However, I am not a single voter issue on this. I agree with her on the need for single sex spaces and the need to define women correctly. But much as that policy matters hugely, and affects other areas of life, it is not, for me, the be-all-and-end-all, because things like her policies on education are also extremely damaging. I have to choose who to vote for as a combination of many factors, and it won't likely be conservative as a result. Even if I think the issue of women's rights is huge.

I was pondering this very question yesterday which you have answered, thank you. I have been researching her as she is a candidate I've not heard of.
Quite honestly Im sick to death of all the catchy slogans, its like a Dick and Jane childrens book......IS IT TIME FOR TOM CHILDREN?

Not agreeing that Badenoch is a decent person does not equal being a TRA. I am not a TRA, but I will say this. Some of the rhetoric expressed towards trans people on MN reminds me of the moral panic and bigotry whipped up in the early 80s around gay and lesbian people.

There is a trans woman in my family. She is a threat to nobody. She has, however, been harassed and assaulted for being a trans woman.

All the candidates would cut state spending in some areas, because state spending is high and they want to cut taxes. They’re Tories.

If you want support for Labour policies, tell them to get back on the side of sanity.

If you listen to her campaign video (you can google it and it will come up), she explains some of the ways that she will reduce the size of the state and what kinds of things she will cut - for example, support in schools. She wants to focus on whole-class teaching, and get rid of all the 'superfluous' support groups, extra staff and so on. She says it's great to focus on improving whole-class teaching, but I suspect it is not because it is better educationally, but because it will save money, so that she can cut taxes. And she has similar ideas about other public services.

@Rummikub I've tried to research about this but nothing is coming up. Do you mind expanding on what this means please?

Oh, I see the TRAs have found this thread.

This is a much more nuanced answer so thanks for that.
The issue I've highlighted is that the qualification focus has taken away from the practical experience so the idea that nursing education takes on a different form isn't completely out of the question as the current model doesn't work as well a it should.

I do doubt Kemi is actually thinking of it in these terms though. More likely slashing for slashings sake.

Nursing courses definitely need to increase the time spent to gain practical experience. IMO We need RNs who can competently manage a shift as soon as they qualify and don't need a year to 18 months preceptorship.

But we must not get rid of degree qualifications. This would make nurses less well qualified compared with other health care professionals and would have a devastating downward effect on pay. Remember this is a female dominated profession. Are we really suggesting a downgrading of nursing qualifications on a feminism discussion board?

This.

Oh please educate me. 🙄

She’s absolutely awful, as PPs have said her policy ideas would deeply harm women. She doesn’t give a shit about women.

She wants to get rid of net zero targets, the adoption of which in the UK and worldwide have actually been a real achievement for the Tory Party.

@XenaKeyboardWarriorPrincess you are talking BS. But then you're not a nurse just a friend of a friend of a nurse 😂

She is odious, bigoted and a bit dodgy (hacking politician's websites).

There's some stuff I like about Kemi but I can't vote Conservative because I believe in a socialist economic policy. I also can't currently vote Labour because I despise misogyny, purity spirals and opportunist lying.

[email protected]

This is addresse to ask the prospective leaders questions via email/sky.

Lots of questions about this issue would drum this home as a big issue.

I agree it's stupid and shows a real ignorance of the realities of education, but that's a very common view. Most people think a teacher is just a worksheet dispenser and so that contributes to the widespread contempt of them and oversimplification of solving problems.

Personally, I don't think politicians with only their very limited, often private, experience of education should be allowed anywhere near national decisions(Gove) Minister for education should actually either be or be working very closely with people who actually have worked across the breadth of education and have the experience.

Whilst the 'just teach them without the bells and whistles, Sen doesn't exist and is lazy parenting and teaching, desks in rows, rote learn timestables, do some colouring' view is awful , it's the most common view held in the country.

Although I am surprised that she can know so much about rse,.safeguarding and yet be clueless and education in general.

Yes, she has no idea that many TAs enable whole class teaching to take place in the way that it couldn’t without them.

Terrible ideas for education - focus on 'whole class teaching' so that you can get rid of the TAs and other support staff, all the extra activities, etc. Too bad for the children who fall behind or can't cope with that.

We don’t live under a dictatorship- so any of her ideas/sound bites that are too far off will never come to fruition anyway.

doesn’t matter who you vote for, the politicians always get elected.

id happily vote for her because I’d love to see a block woman at the helm.