Webchat about women/mums in politics with Stella Creasy and Caroline Nokes - 1st February

[JuliaMumsnet]

Hello,

We're delighted to announce a webchat on the 1st February, from 12.30 to 1.30pm with Caroline Nokes MP and Stella Creasy MP about women and mothers in politics. We know that women - and particularly mums - are underrepresented in politics, and that the makeup of those walking the corridors of power affects the decisions that are made. The webchat is part of the work we’re doing to explore the barriers for women and mums and see what can be done to encourage more of them to get involved.

Caroline Nokes is the conservative party MP for Romsey and Southampton North and the current Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee in Parliament, where she is leading an inquiry into menopause in the workplace. Since her election in 2010 she has served as a Minister in the Department for Work and Pensions, the Cabinet Office and was Minister of State for Immigration in Theresa May’s Cabinet.

Stella Creasy is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Walthamstow in North East London. She’s worked on legal loan sharks, legalising abortion in Northern Ireland, to tackle tax evasion and the impact of the private sector on the NHS and for stronger action on violence against women and girls. Following the birth of her first child in 2019, she became the first MP to appoint a locum while she took maternity leave.

Please join us here on Tuesday 1st February at 12.30pm. If you can’t join us on the day, please leave your question here in advance.

As always, please remember our webchat guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered, and please keep it civil. Also if one topic is dominating a thread, mods might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. (We may suspend the accounts of anyone who continues after we've posted to ask people to stop, so please take note.) Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

Many thanks,
MNHQ

Thank you. I do hope this goes ahead though and that the questions are answered. I’m probably being far too optimistic though!

@DownWhichOfLate

What happened to the NSPCC one?

This one

https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnetfacebookk_live/3343961-Facebook-Live-about-talking-to-kids-about-staying-safe-from-abuse-with-NSPCC

I’m interested to know what, in the course of your research, have you both found to be the most significant barriers for women in politics? And why those barriers differ between sexes?

I can think of lots of reasons, but am specifically interested in the sex based evidence you’ve gathered on this issue (and if it compares to opinions raised on here).

Thank you.

I hope this will not be cancelled - women feel ignored, disrespected and that there is no political party that cares for their votes. The mysogyny of the existing parties is a major problem in persuading women into politics. It's obvious that no party wants to change that because they enjoy it. I'm not in a position to stand for Parliament and while comfortable I dont have enough money to get my local MP to listen to me. So what do you suggest I do as at the moment I'm thinking not vote and deny legitimacy to any government.

I wonder if one of the major reasons why more women don’t get involved in politics is that it’s really difficult to find out how to actually do so.

So my question for Stella and Caroline - how did you first find out about joining a political party or standing for election?

The abuse that politicians get on social media platforms seems to me like something no normal person would want to sign up for.

Do you think the social media platforms should be doing more to police this? Or do you think politicians just need to learn to accept the abuse and ignore it?

The electorate seem to me to have lost faith in politics. There is very little trust of politicians, very little faith and - I'm sorry - very few politicians who seem to have much conviction, integrity or honesty.

No one can take seriously a party or a person who says they don't know what a woman is, or who fails to answer the question, or who answers so weakly they demonstrate a concerning lack of knowledge, understanding and empathy.

What would you do to restore faith in politics, politicians, and the political system? What will happen if you don't?

@Cismyfatarse

Do you think women in Scotland, such as me, should have fewer rights than those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland? Rights to, for example, rape crisis support away from men.

Will you campaign to ensure that the Scottish government does not give our rights away?

I want this answered too please. Why don't females matter, to any of your parties?

Do you think women no longer have a voice and have been thrown under a bus to appease a minority group?

What do you both think of the idea, oft repeated that "sex work is work"? What do you foresee as the implications of this idea becoming more widely socially acceptable.

Question for Caroline. To what extent do you think responsibility for a lack of trust in, and disdain for, politicians, falls full square at the door of your party leader?

This is interesting. The issue that MNrs are raising is that we want our single sex spaces and we do not feel that politicians are not listening.

Is this a surprise? Has your party done any polling to find out what women want?

I am now a floating voter. I will vote for any party which states that it will defend my rights under the 2010 exemptions to the equality act. Any party. Even Farage, Salmond, Sheridan.

I cannot believe it has come to this.

Question for Caroline: I have always voted Labour and have been a Labour Party member since 1998 until this month.

I can no longer vote for or support Labour given that Labour does not seem to know what a woman is.

Can Caroline allay my fears & assure me that the Conservative party will step up and protect Women only spaces and protect the rights of women and girls to single sex spaces?

In short - does the Tory party want my vote?

Question for both: I think now is the time for something radical. How about bringing in a new law that says 51% of constituencies may only field women (of the adult human female variety, including transmen and female non binary) at the next 2 elections? These constituencies maybe to include all those where the sitting MP is female plus a random selection of others drawn from a hat. (Other constituencies can field whoever they like).

This would force the House to become balanced and give time for the culture to change and more family friendly hours and ways of doing business to be introduced. It might make some dyed in the wool local parties open their eyes a bit too.

This is a comment not a question: I can't imagine there would have been all those parties in Downing Street if Theresa May had still been in charge.

This is a comment to Caroline: As one of your constituents with 2 vulnerable daughters I will be watching your answers on preserving single sex protections with great interest.

I won't bore anyone with how unnecessarily traumatic my births were, as I'm sure now in Covid times it's even worse. But what is going to be done about the appalling quality of maternity care? Why is it that post natal care, including support for breastfeeding, is so bad?

@MNHQ, I know you have limits on how many times the same kind of question can be asked, but it looks like you could end up with a very short chat if you take out most of the ones about gender.

As one of the many, many women who stopped voting Labour because of this, I really hope Caroline and Stella will recognise how much this matters to Mumsnetters and engage with us on this very important topic.

My local councils at all levels is made up of a huge majority of old, middle age men. (I'm local to Caroline.) I was on a parish council recently and same story. While it made me feel young to be usually the youngest in the room by 30 years, it's not really acceptable that only a minority of the population are represented in local politics. The district council has had a couple of token events about 'getting women to be councillors' but realistically most women with young children don't have years to spend getting friendly with one of the local political parties and even then probably wont get chosen as again, its all white old men there too. Something is seriously wrong and isn't going to be fixed under the current system. What can we do to make large scale change to actually get a wider range of the population into local politics?

This is a second question so i know it may not be allowed :

How about a law/encouragement that the press (including their online versions) are not allowed to comment on the appearance or clothes of female MPs? This could force them to comment on their actual ability rather than fripperies.

I've long been interested in standing for my local council - I have settled for being a trade union rep instead.
The reason is disability - my local expect >75% attendance at leafleting and canvassing sessions before being considered for nomination. I think I could do the work - meetings, casework and the like but have reduced mobility.

I imagine that it is similarly limiting for mums of littlies to be out every Saturday morning - a babe in arms maybe but toddlers are not known for their tolerance of lots of walking and grownups talking. How do we make it truly accessible or is it fair to rule out those that don't have the "right" (ie. physical) commitment?

@PyjamasOClock that's such a good point. I do a lot of online work for my local party but for health reasons can't go leafleting or mind stalls. But there's a lot of emphasis on those tasks and that level of visibility.

Then the older men wonder why they see lots of female members at online meetings but not at events or not standing. They don't acknowledge or understand the caring commitments that primarily fall to women too. See - sex impacting on everything again!

My autistic daughter was harassed and bullied at school to come out as trans by her group of five non binary and trans friends. She was told that JK Rowling was evil and that "all cis het people are evil." Her mental health has been severely affected and on some days she struggles to even go into school. She says that kids go to the LGBTQ group at lunchtime and come back with presents like rainbow shoelaces and giant rainbow flags. Several of the girls are now wearing breast binders.
So I want to know how do you define what a woman is?
What is labour doing to protect the mental health of detransitioners and girls like my daughter who have been bullied by gender extremists and now have mental health conditions?

I also want to know what happens if my elderly Indian mother who does not believe that men can ever be women - and who has never been undressed in front of any man apart from my late father - what happens if she has to use a changing room or other intimate space and a man is in there? How do you think she will understand or respond to this?

What about my daughter? She has been avoiding going to the gender neutral toilets because boys pee all over the seats. She's been holding it in and now has a uti.

What exactly are Labour doing to protect the interests of girls? Was David Lammy correct in calling women dinosaurs and saying that men can grow cervixes?

I'm a long time Labour voter.

Was going I say - Im a long time Labour voter but if you do respect my biological reality in favour of men fetishing and imagining what a woman is I cannot in good conscience vote for you.

Why are the Labour Party not supporting Rosie duffield

It puts me off politics when I can see how acceptable it is to political partys to allow women politicians be bullied and harassed

The same for Joanna cherry

Ms Noakes, I’d like to ask whether you now have an understanding of the Spousal Exit Clause (spousal consent) in the Gender Recognition Act, given after the publication of the Women and Equalities Select Committee report into GRA reform, (an enquiry which you chaired), you wrote an article in the Guardian which misrepresented this clause as meaning that the transitioner has to get spousal consent to start “living in role” for two years, when in fact this is not the case. Consent is only needed for the continuation of the marriage after a Gender Recognition Certificate is issued. Thankfully the Guardian published a retraction but it would be comforting to trans widows to know the same mistake won’t be made again.