In praise of Kemi Badenoch

[IwantToRetire]

Well no doubt I will be told off for linking to a Tory paper, with an article about a Tory woman written by another Tory women, and sent to the naughty step.

But its a good read - Julie Burchill on Kemi Badenoch. Enjoy. Naughty but nice.

She’s not perfect; her back-pedalling on the promise to remove all EU legislation from UK law by the end of 2023 can seem like pragmatism or perfidy, depending on whether or not one is well-disposed towards her; I obviously am. I admire the way her natural gravitas is tempered by mischief; it wasn’t big or clever that, as a youngster, she hacked into Harriet Harman’s website and ‘changed all the stuff in there to say nice things about Tories’ – but I do find it funny.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/in-praise-of-kemi-badenoch/

Archive link https://archive.ph/o6GZq

But the British Labour party, it seems, is only comfortable with women as caregivers and caretakers – literally, in the case of the able veteran MP Harriet Harman, the longest-ever continuously serving female MP, who was briefly ‘caretaker’ of the Labour party in 2015 while the men sorted it out among themselves. In an unusual incidence of auto-gaslighting last week, Harman claimed on Times Radio that Labour women were too ‘subversive’ to get the top job:

‘You’re a subversive challenging force as a feminist in the Labour party. As a woman in the Tory party, you’re not frightening the men. You’re working in collusion with them on their terms and therefore it’s no problem for them to elect you.’

What's to praise? She's our MP and she's awful. I've no idea why people keep voting for her.

Topsey, bad in what way? I’ve watched too many hours of her in action in Westminster and she’s an assertive political operator, on top of her brief and actually responding to questions and challenges rather than just sticking to a script. I’m not up to speed with all her political opinions though, and it would be interesting to hear how she responds to people in her constituency

Yes, I enjoyed the article too

But females can be every bit as keen on a ding-dong or a dust-up as men; in fact, I’d say that women who try to push the theory that we have a completely different political sensibility – saintlike and self-sacrificing and not prone to sins of the flesh like that Big Bad Boris – are often slithery, self-righteous snakes with a far more sinister agenda than many nakedly ambitious male politicians. But enough about Nicola Sturgeon

She responds little to people in her constituency. Except to push the party line.

She's rarely here either, generally preferring to live in Wimbledon. I know she probably isn't unique in that, but her constituency is Saffron Walden. I think she might have a property in the area, but rarely seems to be around.

I know it came up on another thread that she wasn't a good constituency MP - something I am afraid isn't unique.

Some years ago there was quite a well know Labour MP who resigned as an MP because he said he didn't go into politics to be an effing social worker.

Personally I dont think she will stick if out as an opposition MP.

But still liked the article, even though I was aware that it was JB aiming to click certain buttons.

As quoted above "But enough about Nicola Sturgeon"!!!

No. I don't think it's big or clever to commit a serious offence (hacking) and face no repercussions for it.
She's not as clever as she thinks she is and her lurch towards getting support from the right of a party that has already shifted the Overton window rightwards concerns me hugely.
She is a member of a party that have enacted policies that have disproportionately negatively affected women.
So no, I don't like her.

To be honest I think this interview written by Janice Turner was a bit of a hit job in disguise:

i'm not sure if I've linked the share token - if not is anyone else able to? Even though I have a subscription I don't seem to be able to link fully.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kemi-badenoch-interview-brexit-mp-views-rishi-sunak-wlczw6vrv

I think (Brexit aside) that she’s great. I also found her very helpful as a constituency MP - my uncle lives in her constituency and had the most awful issues with Eon (energy). I stepped in to help - got absolutely nowhere with Eon - instead, Kemi’s office sorted it quickly and efficiently.

Here's a link to Kemi's response to the MP Caroline Noakes (chairs the Women & Equalities Committe) when she professed ignorance about the numbers of potentially gay and lesbian children being gaslit into believing they're trans and challenged her to provide evidence. Of course Kemi was able to provide a range of shocking evidence from GIDS, clinicians and European sources. She said:

"A young person and their family may notice that they are gender non-conforming earlier than they are aware of their developing sexual orientation. If gender non-conformity is misinterpreted as evidence of being transgender and a child is medically affirmed, the child may not have had a chance to identify, come to terms with or explore a same-sex orientation.”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13053487/Kemi-Badenoch-warns-young-people-gay-transgender.html

It's a relief to see a politician on top of all this and able to explain facts in a coherent way

Here's a link to the archive version of the Times article https://archive.ph/hH5Rg and given JT usual digs and petty commenting, I thought this interview was fairly straightforward.

There are in fact some statement KB have said that I totally disagree on (for another forum not FWR) but I think this article explains really well why she has been so resolute and straightforward in her approach to women's sex based rights.

Sorry to hear she had to fight to keep her post as Minister for Women, but not surprised to hear she instigated the legal action against the SNP!

This is the full text of the letter KB sent to the Women and Equalities Committee - https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/43255/documents/215243/default/

Worth saving the link to share with others.

Sorry forgot to add am glad to hear that she has (well at least in one case) been a good constituency MP.

I suspect she keeps her constituency staff on their toes. Can imagine getting a right telling off if they did some sloppy work!

I've seen the criticisms on Kemi Badenoch and I don't quite get why. I think she is doing a great job. I like her a lot. She always sounds sensible to when she is talking about a topic.

What has she actually done that makes life better for women? She's part of a group of MPs looking to roll back women's rights. I don't think she agrees with them but she seems to be prepared to do anything for power.

"looking to roll back women's rights"? What do you mean by that?

She is looking to protect women's rights rather than roll them back. She is one of the few MPs who I believe is really invested in this and working to achieve it. I for one am very thankful for her calm, serious manner and the fact that she knows what she is talking about - so rare in a politician these days that it really makes you sit up and listen.

yes to the above. I don't agree with KB on everything, but she's a hell of a lot better than most Labour woman MP's frantically signalling how much they care about us women.

She is part of a group who are looking to restrict abortion access and part of a government that have negatively affected women

That's fine, we all have our priorities. But i'd have kb over the likes of Annaliese Dodds, who wants to make 'transphobia ' a hate crime, any day. Roll on 1984.

Do you know what the group is called? Or who else is in it?

I took a quick look at her voting record as collated by a prolife group (see link) and it seemed to me to signal opposition to further liberalisation of the law, but lukewarm/mixed support for having the current law extended equally to all parts of the UK. A lot of abstentions both for and against abortion rights and teaching about abortion.
My guess is that she reluctantly accepts the status quo and also believes that prolifers should be free to express their opposition.

https://righttolife.org.uk/votes/Saffron-Walden/Kemi-Badenoch

She is part of a group who are looking to restrict abortion access and part of a government that have negatively affected women

I should like to see hard evidence of this please.