Misogyny in politics (and indeed in the way it is reported) is nothing new, but that doesn’t make it any less unacceptable.
Why should female MPs have to put up with the sort of comments that are simply not used against their male contemporaries, and what on earth has gone wrong that a male political editor thought it was ok to write about Angela Rayner in the way that he did?
I raised the unpleasant and misogynistic article in the Mail on Sunday, about the Labour Deputy Leader, with the Speaker of the House of Commons on Sunday afternoon.
I asked him to consider withdrawing the lobby pass of the author of the article.
Because, as many of us have highlighted on the floor of the House of Commons, words have consequences, and perhaps the Mail on Sunday needs to understand that consistent misogynistic journalism also has consequences.
Every political party asks itself the question how they can attract more women to stand as candidates.
They all have different methods to achieve it, but we all share the aspiration of wanting to see more women in public life at every level.
And reporting like this makes it harder.
Because women look at it and think, “why would I want to put myself through that?”
And it’s a good question, which saw too many talented and experienced women choose to leave Parliament at the last election.
And what is it about some male colleagues who still think misogyny is ok?
That it is just fine to go running to the media with a nasty little story about a determined and successful woman in the way someone clearly has about Angela. Well guess what? It isn’t.
And just as Angela has called you out, and I have called you out, so has the Prime Minister.
That should be the clear message to the political nonentity who decided to manufacture the story about Angela Rayner, your Prime Minister also thinks your behaviour is contemptible.
