Lead For Women/Be A WAG

Video: John Harris interviews the Labour women who are fighting for equality.

Harriet Harman, Yvette Cooper and co speak in the above video about what it’s like to be a female MP, and activists discuss the disproportional effect of the budget on women and the length of time it might take to achieve equal representation. Newer MPs like my MP Rachel Reeves talk eloquently about the way male MPs, particularly on the Government’s benches, make patronising and inappropriate comments about appearance and clothes while thinking they’re being polite and gentlemanly. Note to blokes – it’s not. If you wouldn’t regularly compliment Dave on his suits, ask Danny if he’s had a haircut recently as his glorious red hair looks marvellous or tell Nick green’s a good colour on him and really brightens up the place, don’t do it to your female colleagues.

Lead4Women campaigned for a Labour Party Leader who would, as the name on the tin says, Lead For Women. They wrote letters to all the candidates, asking them a set of questions. Ed Miliband committed to a 50:50 male:female shadow cabinet in his response – L4W are now working on holding him to his promises.

The I’m a WAG campaign has a tongue in cheek name standing for Women Against George – in recognition of the fact that the new Chancellor’s cuts disproportionally affect women:

“George Osborne’s cuts to the Health in Pregnancy grant, the Sure Start Maternity Allowance, Child Tax Credits and Child Benefit expose how he and the Coalition are not on women’s sides.

Women are at the very heart of family and society, and with lower Carers Allowance payments, cuts to housing benefit, and the rise in VAT, this Tory Government propped up by the Lib Dems is just throwing more hurdles in the way of hard working women.”

Sky Poll – a result for everyone

From Love and Garbage, who provides excellent analysis and screenshot proof, a curious tale. Sky took an “instant poll” on its website immediately after the first of the televised UK election debates took place on Thursday evening.  Who did these people think had “won” on the night?

Result #1 – Cameron a resounding numero uno with 53%, Clegg second at 28% and Brown miles behind with 19%. 4291 people polled. Not quite what any of the other polls, the blogs, Twitter, TV and radio analysis said, but tallying nicely with their owner Murdoch’s opinion.

Result #2 – Five minutes later, with no more people swelling the sample size according to the website, all change. A closer result and a swapping of positions. Gordon at the top with 35%, Clegg holding tight in the middle with 33% and Cameron trailing behind by just one point on 32%.

Still not quite right…

Nothing like a bit of revisionism, so by 11.15pm with again no more respondents added to the poll (because it was supposed to be an “instant” reaction), no change in the sample size quoted and no explanation, Sky updated their website with their final version of the result – the one that tallied with pretty much every other poll and the tide of popular opinion online and in the media.

Result #3 – Clegg the winner, with 37%, Brown second with 32% and Cameron again last by one point on 31%. And those were the figures they finally shoved out in their news story, which went on to be syndicated elsewhere. Right on the third attempt.

As Love and Garbage says in his very good post, from which I have shamelessly stolen: “Anyway, good to see Sky offering something for everyone on the night.”