Boris Johnson is in trouble and his premiership on the line (again). Keir Starmer is (still) improving but not yet nailing the “next PM” brief. The fog of political fury is thickening and Labour and the Conservatives have abandoned their cold war for a combat between the two leaders getting more visceral — and personal — by the day. This week has seen a sharp escalation of hostilities by proxy, after a spat which began as a silly sexist slur peddled by (at least) one Tory MP to a newspaper about the alleged distraction techniques of Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner burgeoned into outrage at PMQs over underlying misogyny in the Commons.
This Pandora’s box of a story has led to a spate of complaints about the rampant sexist treatment of female MPs. At Wednesday’s PMQs, Rayner stared stern-faced at Johnson, who in turn was at pains to point out that the two — who have a good personal rapport when the cameras are off — had exchanged messages. But the Commons is gradually waking up to the seriousness of allegations of institutional sexism, and MPs were grave. So much so that we might have wondered where the party leaderships’ focus has been: no fewer than 56 MPs find themselves undergoing investigation for sexual harassment. “Of course,” replied Johnson to the Greens’ Caroline Lucas, this was “grounds for dismissal” — a pledge which may return to haunt him as rumours circulate of a Tory frontbencher having watched pornography on his phone during Commons proceedings, teeing up yet another investigation.
