Where are all the women in Labour’s leadership race? Jess Phillips pulled out of the contest in January. Emily Thornberry, who ploughed on in spite of having less overall support, was knocked out a fortnight ago. Two women candidates remain. But every indication, from this week’s polling to CLP nominations to betting odds, is that
As the well-worn cliché has it: if you’re not a socialist at 16, you don’t have a heart; if you’re still one at 60, you don’t have a head. The Labour party is on the brink of extinction. To survive, its members must use their heads. At 16, I was a fanatical socialist, reading Lenin,
Women passing as men is a well-documented manoeuvre that goes back centuries. The history stretches from the legend of Hua Mulan, the fifth-century Chinese warrior who took her ageing father’s place in the army, to 18th-century pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Cross-dressing women defied all odds and deserve to be honoured and celebrated. But
