Booze and long hours aren’t the real problem at Westminster – ‘getting away with it’ is

Even today, it isn’t especially risky for a man to bully, sexually harass or assault someone in Westminster, writes Marie Le Conte

As women gradually get into more senior positions, they are less likely to be preyed on in the same way ((PA))

I like vaping indoors sometimes. It is not allowed, I know it is not allowed, but I am good at being discreet and so, in bars and cafes, I vape indoors. If I get caught, which has happened on occasion, I never vape indoors in that place again. I accept that I was playing a game and lost; these are the rules. I get away with it until I don’t.

I like getting away with things – blagging my way into events, getting someone important to say something they shouldn’t have said – which is why I enjoy political journalism. It is a world full of people like me, who enjoy doing things they shouldn’t really be doing.

They are journalists pursuing stories even if they are legally risky, and politicians who trick and toy with their opponents to get what they want. Without them, little would get done. Of course, the problem is that “getting away with it”, as a hobby and a talent, is entirely neutral; it can be applied to anything.