Sexist PM Patronizes MP

While the eyes of the nation have been firmly fixed on the royal wedding, there have been some peculiar goings on in the British parliament lately.

Prime Minister David Cameron has sparked controversy after telling a female MP to “calm down, dear” during question time yesterday.

Angela Eagle was apparently getting the better of Cameron in a heated discussion about the National Health Service, when the Prime Minister decided to end the conversation, dropping the comment that triggered snorts and chuckles from his fellow Tories.

The PM was “losing his rag because he [was] losing the argument,” said Labour MP, John Woodcock.

Cameron is refusing to apologize, insisting the remark was a joke, nothing but a catch-cry taken from a popular commercial.

Although perhaps intended in jest, I for one, am not particularly amused.

This is a classic case of silencing the “hysterical woman,” and has no place in modern politics or society.

Angela Eagle was a politician making a political argument when she was patronized and belittled in front of her colleagues and the public. When male politicians express their opinions passionately, they are applauded for their gumption, but when women do so they are hushed and ordered to “calm down.”

“Women in Britain in the 21st century do not expect to be told to ‘calm down dear’ by their Prime Minister,” said Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman.

The House of Commons isn’t exactly a comfortable place for women at this point in time. They’re outnumbered almost 5:1 by their male counterparts and often more attention is placed on their physical assets, than their political ones.

The online community has been having a field day thanks to Telegraph journalist, Lucy Jones, asking readers, ”Whose boobs are these?”

The boobs in question belong to Lisa Nandy, the first female Member of Parliament for Wigan, an area of Manchester.

“Call me nosy but who is this busty lass?” Jones enquired in a caption beneath a photo of Nandy’s cleavage. Nandy’s head had been cropped from the image, and only the boobs remained. Not only remained, but were circled heavy-handedly with a red photoshop marker.

That Jones didn’t know who Nandy was, (FYI: a politician who also volunteered for a homelessness charity and develops policies to help young refugees), and could focus only on her breasts, is a reflection more of the journalist than the politician.

In other news, a Conservative election candidate in Kent, Payam Tamiz, was forced to step down after referring to local women as “sluts.”

Perhaps he should double-check his privacy settings.

In a Facebook conversation the ex-candidate expressed his desire to”settle down with someone decent” but claimed it was “impossible to find someone with morals and a bit of self-respect”.

“It’s the ones that look respectable and decent but underneath it all are complete sluts that you got to watch out for,” he said.

Nice.

Unfortunately the rampant sexism in British politics was put on the back-burner while the media waited for Kate to walk down the aisle.

God forbid if the women in the black suits took a speck of the spotlight from the one in the white dress.

Contact the author here: brianna@morningquickie.com