Anneliese Dodds: what has happened to her?

[Calling]

Annelise Dodds was re-elected as MP in a safe seat and I had thought that she would be Minister for Women or similar. I can't find any reference to her as chair of the Labour Party or as Minister and I checked the Labour Party website etc.
I spotted her in a red dress* at the place outside where MPs were waiting to be called to see Starmer, having been summoned, but it was confusing because she was not allowed to go forward for a while when others were (or simply was early and had to wait). She didn't seem very happy about that).

*That's how I noticed her.

Looks like starmer is going to have to do it.

Yep. not going away. I do wonder seriously why anyone puts themselves up for gigs like this which are basically impossible. Everything you do is going to piss off half the population (if you're lucky) and every waking day will consist of nothing but a non stop stream of insoluble problems. all day. every day. You have to be some kind of weird to want to do that.

My hunch:

Starmer told Thornberry she would not be AG and offered her women and equalities, she told him to go swivel. No one else is willing to touch it with a barge pole. It may have been offered to Dodds but she opted for demotion instead.

If Starmer had any balls he would indeed put country before party and look to Duffield or even Phillips. However he is not willing to be that progressive.

We are all watching. The longer he takes to fill this post the worse it looks. All about the optics and right now they don’t look good.

Tic Tock Sir Keir.

I’ll bet Keir doesn’t want to piss off JK Rowling right now. He’ll have enough fire-fighting to be dealing with eg the missteps that David Lammy and Lisa Nandy will make through their ideological naïveties.

And/or he could be trying to persuade a ‘compromise candidate’ to take the necessary seat in the Lords?

Or he doesn’t give a fuck.

Oh for heaven’s sake, they’ve barely announced any ministers yet. We don’t have a Minister for Media, Tourism and Creative Indutries yet, or a Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education either. The Minister for Women and Equalities is a ministerial position within the Cabinet Office and is not a government department. They will no doubt announce everything in the next few days. They have only been in power since Friday, and yesterday was Sunday.

You let it all out here. It’s very cathartic.

Nuala did ask whoever they've got on about who is getting the women and equalities role; whoever it is didn't know.

They're discussing it now - sorry I wasn't listening closely enough.

Nuala asked the direct q about trans women and women's only spaces.

On woman's hour today!

Ah it was Harriet Harman .... worth a listen

Around 10:15

She's saying that single sex spaces is protected in the EA, but the guidance needs to be clearer for prisons, rape crisis centres etc.

Then the bla bla about it being toxic and we can meet the needs of both 🙄

And apparently Rachel reeves is very brainy and beat all the men at chess at some point.

Testeria. I like it.

Please say she didn’t say that - does she have the awareness to know how that sounds?

Oh gawd. Dodds got Women and Equalities.

Oh please, no. Not Dodds. I can't believe these idiots.

Has anyone compiled a list of her ridiculous statements, such as the one about who is a woman is a matter of context?

Bridget Phillipson is also Minister for Women and Equalities in addition to Secretary of State for Education, apparently.

Scans well

There appear to be two Ministers for Women -Anneliese Dodds and Bridget Phillipson.

Oddly enough, I did wonder if (hoped) Starmer would have two - Tonia +one other, so I was kind of right.

I know everyone likes to crap on Dodds here - personally I think the fact she engineered the improved Labour position on the issue and has met with LGBA is more important than whatever statements she feels obliged to give out to the tourists

Fuck me is he planning to to ride two horses for FIVE YEARS?

Just announced. She has women and equalities plus Development

IIRC Phillipson has a background working in womens refuges.

The fact he didn't go for the obvious Rosie Duffield tells us all we need to know. Bait and switch. Pretends to be supportive of women to get the election then throws us all under the bus