Miliband torments Cameron over his ‘problem with women’

David Cameron was accused of having “a problem with women” yesterday as he lined up alongside an all-male frontbench at the first Prime Minister’s Questions following the de-selection of his only female MP in Yorkshire.
A view of the Government front bench as David Cameron speaks during Prime Minister's QuestionsA view of the Government front bench as David Cameron speaks during Prime Minister's Questions
A view of the Government front bench as David Cameron speaks during Prime Minister's Questions

Labour leader Ed Miliband said the PM was “failing women across your party and across the country” due to his inapparent inability to further increase the number of female Tory MPs and Cabinet Ministers, and a raft of Government policies which Labour says have hit women hard.

The Prime Minister was left looking exposed at PMQs alongside an all-male frontbench, with Home Secretary Theresa May and Culture Secretary Maria Miller both absent from their usual seats. The Labour bench was packed with senior female figures including Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Rachel Reeves, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh – all West Yorkshire MPs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The war of words was played out against the backdrop of Anne McIntosh’s shock de-selection by party members in her Thirsk and Malton constituency in a ballot last Friday. Miss McIntosh was in her usual backbench seat directly behind the Prime Minister yesterday, and looked on silently as Mr Miliband highlighted her plight.

“You said in 2014 you would lead the way on women’s equality,” the Labour leader told the Prime Minister, his comments laced with heavy irony. “Can you tell us how is that going in the Conservative Party?”

Referring to unconfirmed reports that local Conservatives in North Yorkshire now hope to replace Miss McIntosh with a local Tory councillor, Edward Legard, Mr Miliband went on: “What is the Tory party doing? It is removing one of its most senior women, and seeking to replace her with an Old Etonian. That says it all about the Conservative Party.”

Mr Cameron acknowledged he wanted to promote more women to his Government, but said he was proud of what had been achieved so far.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But in his final PMQs salvo, Mr Miliband said: “You promised to modernise your party, but you are going backwards. You run your Government like the old boys network – that’s why you are failing women across your party and across the country.”

Mr Cameron defended his record of rapidly increasing the number of female MPs in his party, but accepted there was much more to do.

“On the important issue of getting more women into public life... this is fantastically important for our country, because we will not represent or govern our country properly unless we have more women at every level in our public life,” the PM said.

“I am proud of the fact that as leader of the Conservative Party the number of women MPs has gone from 17 to 48, but we need to do much more – I want this to go further.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

After almost four years in power, Mr Cameron has brought the proportion of women Conservative Cabinet Ministers up to 24 per cent – still well short of the 33 per cent he pledged before the last election.

With Labour MPs pointing gleefully to the line of male faces along the Tory frontbench yesterday, Mr Miliband said: “I do have to say a picture tells a thousand words. Look at the all male frontbench laid before us.

“You said a third of your Ministers would be women, you are nowhere near meeting the target. Half the women you have appointed as Ministers after the election have resigned or been sacked. And in your Cabinet, there are as many men who went to Eton or Westminster as there are women.

“Do you think it is your fault the Conservative Party has a problem with women?”