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James Millar: Treatment of Penny Mordaunt shows we like Westminster women well-dressed and silent

Wit, intellect, competence - these are not qualities that get coverage when compared to a dress and a sword.

Lord President of the Council Penny Mordaunt holding the Sword of State, walking ahead of King Charles III during his coronation ceremony (Image: Yui Mok/PA)
Lord President of the Council Penny Mordaunt holding the Sword of State, walking ahead of King Charles III during his coronation ceremony (Image: Yui Mok/PA)

In the very first column I wrote for The P&J, I picked Penny Mordaunt as one to watch in Westminster.

I had her down as a potential successor to Theresa May. In the event, she wisely held her run, planted her flag in last year’s leadership contest and hit public consciousness properly at the weekend, when she performed her duty as lord president of the council and held a muckle sword upright throughout the coronation.

Twitter went to town. Political Twitter, in particular, latched onto the politician with the most prominent part in the whole spectacle. And it gave me the ick.

Mordaunt is leader of the House of Commons, a job assigned to her by Liz Truss, apparently in an effort to sideline her erstwhile rival. Like everything Truss touches, it backfired.

Mordaunt takes a question time with MPs every Thursday morning, and it’s increasingly talked about as a more pertinent highlight than Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons calendar. She takes no prisoners, kiboshes opposition on all sides.

Almost every week, dopey and dangerous conspiracy nut Andrew Bridgen asks for a debate on Covid vaccines and, instead of just telling him to sit down and stop being silly, Mordaunt patiently demolishes the very underpinnings of his stupid statements.
But that work doesn’t seem to attract the attention of the overwhelmingly male press pack that reports from parliament.

They only perk up when she rocks up to Westminster Abbey in a striking frock and grips a pointy thing upright for hours.

Men making comments have no idea how it feels

This is how they like women in Westminster – dressed well and unable to talk back.
Wit, intellect, competence – these are not qualities that get coverage.

Instead, we were treated to the unedifying spectacle on social media of male commentators making comments across a spectrum of creepiness – on her outfit, on her body and fitness, on her similarity to characters in Star Trek. All while she was in the Abbey and on screen, unable to respond.

There were a weird amount of comments suggesting she’s nailed on to be next leader of the Conservative Party because of her sword strength: comments that subtly and insidiously negate her proper qualifications and experience and ability as a politician.

No doubt those commentators would insist it was all good fun, that they complimented not degraded Mordaunt. Yet, those men don’t know what it’s like to step up and have their appearance and outfit be the focus of attention – to put in the hard yards building a career, only to receive attention for a sideshow. Plenty of women do.

Mordaunt isn’t their queen, she’s just another woman among too many.


James Millar is a political commentator, author and a former Westminster correspondent for The Sunday Post

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