Left-wing men are the 'actual worst' sexists, says Labour MP Jess Phillips

The MP for Birmingham Yardley says left don’t think of women ‘on the same level’

Monday 14 August 2017 17:20 BST
Comments
Ms Phillips also hit out at claims that Jeremy Corbyn was helping to lead the battle for women’s equality in Britain
Ms Phillips also hit out at claims that Jeremy Corbyn was helping to lead the battle for women’s equality in Britain

Jess Phillips, the Labour MP, has claimed left-wing men are the “actual worst” sexists.

The MP for Birmingham Yardley was speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival when she said many on the left don’t think of women “on the same level”.

She also hit out at claims that Jeremy Corbyn was helping to lead the battle for women’s equality in Britain.

The backbencher said a leading left-wing journalist from The Guardian, who she refused to name, “lectured” her saying that ex-deputy leader Harriet Harman was “not that great for women” but Mr Corbyn had always “voted in the right way".

“So yeah, Jeremy Corbyn better for women than Harriet Harman, obviously,” she sarcastically said, The Times reported.

“I remember him in all those meetings, there with his banners for [equality].”

When asked if the “out and out sexists of the right” were worse than the “well-meaning” of the left she claimed: “They [the left-wing men] are the worst, the actual worst.

“Men said they supported better female representation but, when it came to losing their own jobs, they would say, ‘Oh, you mean me? But I am so clever. I’ve got so much to offer the world’.

“They are literally the worst.”

Since being elected to Parliament in 2015, Ms Phillips has been a vocal campaigner for women's rights.

She made history last year when she read out the names of the 120 women murdered in Britain that year.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in