The British Prime Minister has condemned the “misogyny” which targets an opposition MP. “While I disagree with Angela Rayner on almost every political topic, I respect her as a parliamentarian and deplore the misogyny directed anonymously at her today,” Boris Johnson tweeted.
According to Mail on Sunday, Tory MPs compare Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labor Party, to Sharon Stone in the movie ‘Basic instinct’, saying she likes to distract the Prime Minister by crossing and uncrossing her legs when asking questions to the leader of the government in parliament. The newspaper quotes MPs on condition of anonymity, with one saying Angela Rayner ‘can’t match’ Boris Johnson’s oratorical skills ‘but [qu’] she has other skills that she lacks”.
A wave of support from other political parties
The article described Ms Rayner, 41, as ‘a socialist grandmother who left school at 16 while pregnant and without qualifications before becoming a social worker’, comparing her to Boris Johnson, 57, who attended the very elite college of Eton before studying at the prestigious University of Oxford.
Angela Rayner denounced on Twitter the “sexism” and “misogyny” of which she is the target, saying she was “proud” of her career and hoping that the article would not deter “anyone, with a career like mine who aspires to participate in public life”.
She received numerous messages of support, including from other political parties, including Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom who called the article and reported comments “unacceptable”. Scottish First Minister and leader of Scottish independence Nicola Sturgeon called it a “reminder of the deep misogyny women face every day”.