Election 2019: Twenty one candidates seeking election call women ‘terfs’

[stumbledin]

Have only just seen it although it was published a couple of weeks ago.

Research by Fairplay for Women:

"We found the abusive slur ‘Terf’ has been used by seven Liberal Democrat candidates, seven Labour party candidates, four Green Party Candidates and three Scottish Greens. We found no use of the word by candidate for the Conservatives, SNP and Plaid Cymru."

fairplayforwomen.com/pcc/

Helpful of them to let us know they’re not to be voted for.

Journalists please cover this. It’s stirring up hatred against gender critical women. There isn’t a male equivalent of that. Men don’t get physically punched to the ground for having gender critical views as did Maria Mclaughlin at speaker’s corner (and she was forced to use female pronouns in court for her attacker who was found guilty), men with GC views do not have their offices pissed on like Rosa Freedman’s was, nor do men who are GC have to bring their former employers to court like Maya Forstater is doing.

To have candidates for our collective political representation in Parliament using hateful words at election time against gender critical women legitimises violence, harassment and oppression against women and undermines democracy.

The electoral commission regulates elections and produces guidance for candidates on when abuse they get when campaigning, obviously this is also a key problem to resolve to protect fair and free elections:

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-11/Joint%20Guidance%20for%20Candidates%20in%20Elections%202019.pdf

The Commons library wrote up recent activity on abuse and threats in political life:
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/parliament-and-elections/elections-elections/intimidation-of-political-candidates-review-and-recommendations/

However these have focused on the candidates as the recipients of abuse, being a threat to democracy.

Where are the sanctions for candidates being abusive themselves, or if the sanctions already exist, how can we enforce those?

Sorry I shouldn’t have described Electoral Commission as electoral regulators - they’re not responsible for the whole process just setting standards for conduct in elections.

‘After the election, the Electoral Commission produces a report on the administration of the election (including any recommendations for improvement) and publishes information on parties’ and campaigners’ donations and spending, and on electoral data (e.g. turnout and information on postal voting).’

They should include candidates’ conduct as reported by FairPlay for Women in the next report.

The quality of candidates seeking election is getting worse year on year.
It might look like greater democratic representation on paper - having lots of young/female/ethnic candidates - but that does not always equate to capability, credibility or integrity. Another reason I'll be spoiling my ballot on Thursday.

I don't think the SNP should get off scot free after what Mhairi Black said. I'd like them added to the list of shame.

Mhairi was among more than one SNP candidate who signed that letter some time back basically saying their feminism did not include gender critical women.
Where I live I'm between a rock (see above) and a Liberal Dem who is obviously fully on board the train.

And she called women who disagree with her 'Jeremy Hunts'. A fried of mine is writing cocks on their ballot paper. I'm starting to think it might be the way to go.

No MP should be calling women Jeremy Hunts over any issue. That right there should end a political career. Sorry, Mhairi, but you may as well have said "I am an emotional child unsuited to public service".

MPs calling women T&RFS is pretty much an admission that not only are they not capable of fairly representing even those constituents who disagree with them, they don't intend to even try. Which is an excellent reason not to vote for them.

It might look like greater democratic representation on paper - having lots of young/female/ethnic candidates - but that does not always equate to capability, credibility or integrity

I agree. In no other job is lack of experience or knowledge considered beneficial. You wouldn’t say ‘let’s put 20 year old med students in charge of the cardiology department and give them the most complex cases to operate on because, you know, diversity’.

Though sex and race are a bit different to age.

Yeah birds. That’s it

Anyway am just a cunt according to Black

Just checked on the FPFW link and my local Labour candidate is on the list. I found him on Twitter and they's non-binary with they/them pronouns. So, at least I know now

Sorry, I found them on Twitter

MPs calling women T&RFS is pretty much an admission that not only are they not capable of fairly representing even those constituents who disagree with them, they don't intend to even try. Which is an excellent reason not to vote for them

Yes, an awful lot of candidates now who are just not up to the role of being an MP. Too young or simply not bright or capable enough.

Though sex and race are a bit different to age

Not in the case of Dawn Butler, they're not. How else is she on the front bench and with such a brief?

Didn't the judge in Harry The Owl's case remark from the bench that."terf" is a "derogatory term"? Yes, he did. Not a good look for a prospective MP.

I don't think the SNP should get off scot free after what Mhairi Black said. I'd like them added to the list of shame

Mhairi Black should not get off scot free. It was:-
(a) a horrible thing to say about women;
(b) hugely disrespectful to Jeremy Hunt; and
( c ) showed her to be the sort of nasty, playground bully who thinks it's ok to ridicule someone because of their name.

I complained to Sturgeon's husband who is CEO of the party- didn't hear a peep.

Just in case anyone missed the Mhairi Black video, here you go:

mobile.twitter.com/olidugmore/status/1146466610611445760

It astounds me that she actually represents a constituency in parliament.

I noticed that one of the candidates is already a local councillor and another is an English teacher. Good for Fair Play for Women for compiling this list.

Here's the Green Party candidate in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath calling Neale Hanvey, erstwhile SNP candidate, a transphobe for saying that women's concerns about predators abusing self-id should be heard.

My local labour candidate (who it looks like I'm voting for, there being no Monster Raving Loony candidate) states in her election address that she is not a politician, as if that were a reason for voting for her.

It begs another definition question: You're standing as an MP for a major political party, doesn't that make you a politician, or was Margaret Thatcher just a lab technician working on the formula for Angel Delight?