To think it's time for a woman to be Prime Minister

[Cinnamon77]

It doesn't look like Starmer is going to be PM for much longer but all the favourites to replace him are men.

Every female PM we've had has been Conservative - no woman has ever led the Labour Party before.

Wouldn't it be an improvement to have a left wing woman running the country, like we've seen elsewhere? There are many good female MPs in Labour like Raynor, Mahmood, Huq, Phillips, Siddiq, Leadbeater, Thornberry, Dodds, Kendall, Haigh, Butler and Reeves (Ellie, not Rachel).

Why aren't any of them contenders and wouldn't we be doing better if one of them was in charge?

It REALLY annoys me when women say that gender doesn't matter.

After women have been specifically kept down, solely because of their gender, for years!

Of course gender matters. Sometimes women are their own worst enemy.

@Finto1111 There is a "female drivers only " option on the Uber taxis app, for example. This was introduced for women's safety as there were so many incidents of male Uber drivers raping women passengers.

This is a completely different issue as well as the one that you mentioned in your post immediately after! Preferring a female doctor for one reason or another, for example, is not the same issue as choosing your PM on the basis of gender!

For example, would you feel it was right to reject all men in their applications to be Uber drivers because some of them happened to be rapists? I would expect that the answer to that is "no". These incidents happened and, yes, we can understand why some women would feel more comfortable if their drivers were women. Having said this, having a female Uber driver does not guarantee anyone's safety as women can also be murderers, drug addicts and thieves! Uber, therefore, shouldn't choose their drivers on the basis of their gender. Maybe conduct a criminal records check, another check that would make their passengers more comfortable but the person's gender doesn't achieve that outcome in itself.

I think your confidence is misplaced when it comes to Doctors, HCPs and care

I can see it annoys you but I still believe that people should be selected for their jobs on the basis of their competence and experience to do them rather than their gender.

That poster wrote that most people don't care if their Doctor is a man or a woman.

I wrote that several women that I know havr told me that they do prefer their Doctor to be a woman, not a man.

In what way is it misplaced and what does confidence have to do with anything I said? All I am saying is that I want my doctors to be competent in what they do. I don't care if they are men or women, what race or religion they are etc.

So what is your opinion on the USA president always being male, as far back as USA history goes?

Was it it best candidate each time? Or did they get in because of their gender?

I prefer women Doctors and Dentists.

I have had two male Doctors and one male Dentist be inappropriate with me enough to make me feel uncomfortable

I know a lot of women that prefer going to women Doctors.

I was curious so looked it up.

Reproductive leave does not exist everywhere in Australia. And a lot of the actual medical things covered are also in UK law. Just not badged as “reproductive leave”.

About the only thing that isn’t is menstrual leave. Which is a stupid concept for most women who are perfectly able to work through their periods (I do appreciate there are women who aren’t - which is where better healthcare should come in, rather than leave, to actually address the underlying issue)

I don't agree that most women are perfectly able to work through their periods.

Science has said that period cramps are as painful as heart attacks.

It depends on age too. Women coming into their 40s, who go through peri menopause and menopause should definitely be able to get menstual leave. Our hormones naturually change in our 40s.

My periods were bearable in my twenties. In my fortiez - my periods are horrendous

And I am pretty confident that most people just want their doctors and other professionals they interact with to be competent in what they do! Yes, some people care about their gender but that's not most people!

I prefer female Doctors. Because I have met some very pervy male doctors. Whem I was growing up, my local male Doctor got struck off for touching many teenage patients breasts.

They would go in for a sore throat. He would tell them to strip and touch their breasts

That's your prerogative. It doesn't mean that all doctors, dentists or any other professionals should now have gender listed among selection criteria for their jobs. I personally don't care if my dentist or doctor is a man or a woman. I just would like a competent one. And, no, I am not saying that I'd love my dentist or doctor to be inappropriate with me. Like I said, this is a different issue.

Yes thats your prerogative too. I think ita okay for women to want female Doctors, Dentists, midwives etc

Yes, I get that you do because you met some pervy doctors. And like I said, it's a different issue. I am not going to start thinking that all male doctors are pervs or that men as a group should somehow have less favour in applying for jobs than women because some men happen to be pervs.

Where did I say it wasn't ok for women to prefer female doctors, dentists or whoever? I am just saying that people should be selected for their jobs on merit, i.e. their competence, skill, experience etc rather than on the basis of their gender! 🙄

I didn't just meet them. I heard about pervy Doctors happening to other women too.
Men can become Doctors. But it is also my choice whether to use a male Doctor ot jot.

It's a risk assessment and I take my safety seriously.

I have never been raped by a male Uber driver. However I have read many stories about women who have Been raped by Uper drivers.

I had to get an Uber at 4am this morning tonget a flight. I chose a female driver as I want to feel safe. That feeling of safety is just brilliant.

Yes, because the woman in charge of Scotland ‘did very well’ for women of course 🙄

But that has never happened in Politics!
Men have been chosen over women in Politics PRECISELY because of their gender!

It won't make any difference who's PM because it's not them that makes the decisions, it's the suits behind them.
In the 70s or 80s there was a program called Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister. They were comedies but according to Thatcher very true to life. It's the people behind the scenes that make the decisions and that won't change no matter who's in charge.

Never? So what gender were Thatcher, May, Truss, Ardern, Sturgeon? And who are Yvette Cooper, Rachel Reeves, Shabhana Mahmood, Bridget Phillipson?

😂😮

And by the way, I don't think those are particularly competent! 😃

As of 2025, 58 people (55 men and 3 women) have served as prime minister in the U.K.

It definitely wasn't the "best candidate" every time. It was to do with gender. Men had power and men did not want women to have power over them

Do you understand the meaning of how something should be vs reality? I said that people should be selected for their jobs based on merit and merit only. It doesn't mean that's what's happening in real life every time. I don't know why all US presidents happen to be men. Maybe because there is someone like you out there, who just prefers men to be put forward 😉(joking!)

There is a lot wrong with politics and president's or PM's gender is probably the least of people's problems.