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Harriet Harman: Tory women are ‘not subversive’

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What is it with the Labour party and female leaders? Much has been written about the left-wing party’s failure to give a woman the top job, given the fact that Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and Liz Truss have all done so for the Tories. But now, a new theory has been advanced as to why Labour has never had a female leader, according to the woman who once (temporarily) filled that role, Harriet Harman.

According to the long-time London MP, the answer could lie in the fact that, er, Tory women aren’t agents of change like their Labour equivalents. Harman made the comments on Times Radio when she mused aloud that:

You’re a subversive challenging force as a feminist in the Labour party. As a woman in the Tory party, you’re not frightening the men. You’re working in collusion with them on their terms and therefore it’s no problem for them to elect you.

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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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