To think Reeves being the first female chancellor isn't something to brag about?

[brislereg]

I'm not unhappy about the budget but her and Starmer have both cited this as a milestone, apparently forgetting that the Tories have had three female leaders who have been PMs whilst Labour have had none.

I really don't think as a party they are as much of a friend to women that they claim to be.

And possibly the most misogynist PM we've ever had in Thatcher

Are you just bored?
Or is that the budget just wasn't bad enough for you to rage about?

You really are clutching at straws with this thread!

Over 800 years and this is the first woman to do the job.

How in the actual fuck can you ‘leave gender out’ of that?

Absolutely this. My DD turned a teenager on the day Labour won and at her birthday dinner her aunt and I spoke optimistically about the future of public services and the profile of women (family of teachers - mainly a female career).

Someone who actually supported women's rights would see this as a win.

To crow about Tories being on the side of women means that your head is so far in the sand, you're looking at Australia. It's all a bit desperate.

Then again, someone on here complained about Starmer living for free at No 10, so nothing surprises me.

I'm sure you meant 'sex' rather than 'gender'?

I think it’s a win. She should be proud. Regardless of the party in power, I hope we see more women in significant roles - 3 PMs and a chancellor isn’t enough yet, but you have to start somewhere so it can only get better.

@username7891 at no point have I said the Tories are on the side of women. Simply that they have had 3 female leaders. Not the same thing.

I don't think that labour's recent record on women's rights has been great, unfortunately.

But you're not arguing the Trans position, you're trying to claim that Tories are the better party re women's representation, which is clearly not the case.

Having been a member of the Labour Party, and at times very active, I don't think anyone could honestly claim that the interests of women have ever been to the forefront. Neither could anyone seriously claim there's not a current of misogyny running through it at practically every level.

If we're comparing Reeves to May and god forbid, Truss, then I'd say there is a massive marked improvement?

That’s a bit disingenuous - Duffield is one Labour MP. There are brilliant women who show no desire to leave and are in top jobs - namely Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner, Jess Philips. Phillips in particular campaigns tirelessly for women’s rights.

I think it’s about time we had more women in senior roles and absolutely worth noting that Reeves is the first female chancellor. It’s great.

Did you start a thread chastising Truss? Just wondering why it’s Reeves that is making you so vocal.

Their 'recent record '? They've been in power for a few months and raising the NMW for example, helps millions of women. As well as having a record number of women in positions of power including Chancellor of the Exchequer.

So you agree that the Tories are not on the side of women (their record speaks for itself) and Thatcher was open about her contempt for women, Truss was a waste of space. Although she fluffed the Brexit negotiations, May did do some good work on domestic abuse and trafficking.

Last time I looked, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is a totally different role to PM.

I think she is right to shout it from the rooftops, signposting young girls and women.

Fucking brilliant. 👏

You have to understand the fundamental differences between the Tories and Labour.

Tories will do anything that looks good on the surface and they can crow about. Doesn't matter what the shit behind the curtain looks like.

Labour puts in the person that they think will do the job best, regardless of whether they "look" good or not.

Two of those Tory women were shoved in as temporary fall guys (as was token Asian Rishi), they were never intended to be big hitters like Johnson etc. The others that would have gone forward because they want to be PM were waiting for a better season and hopefully a longer, easier reign than either May or Truss were ever going to get.

Of course it's a milestone for the UK, having now had its first woman Chancellor. It was also a milestone for the UK when Margaret Thatcher became the first woman PM of the UK. (Theresa May and Liz Truss have nothing to do with it except that people love to denigrate women no matter what.)

IF Labour ever have a woman leader, that will be a milestone for the Labour Party, but not for the UK as there has already been a first woman Party Leader (also Thatcher). In fact, every other party in Parliament has already had a woman leader, and none of them put the interests of women before or equal with those of men because misogyny is still pervasive in UK politics and society. It's still objectively better that there HAS been a woman Chancellor of the UK than if there had never been one.

@username7891 by recent record I was referring to things they said and did whilst in opposition

Her sex is irrelevant. That she doesn’t seem much use is.🤷‍♀️

This is inconsistent OP. If you take the view that a female PM is something to be proud of, and that Labour are lacking due to never having had a female leader, the same principle applies to the Chancellorship.

I love love love the fact that they seem to have put in a competent woman, more than up to the job.

The last two women the Tories made leader were basically set up to fail. That's not something to be proud of.

"Doesn't seem much use"??

Really? Going by what?
The budget she has just announced which has actually caught most people by surprise because it's better than we were led to expect by the Tory press?

I don't think Truss was exactly set up to fail, they were far too much in shambles for anything like that by autumn 2022. But having managed to make a woman a humiliatingly short lived PM is nothing to be proud of I agree. May otoh is a prime example of the glass cliff, and was treated badly from the start by the boorish men surrounding her.

@yeaitsmeagain "token Asian Rishi"?? Really?

I had never thought that was what they were doing there. I can also think of loads of Asian Tory MPs.

This thread is a real non-starter OP.

Of course it's a fantastic milestone for women that a female chancellor has just announced the budget. Why wouldn't it be?