I work in a testosterone-fuelled parliament, where reports of harassment and bullying of staff are ignored, where PMQs is more akin to gladiatorial combat than the serious process of debate and law-making, where dread and excitement of the future are equally balanced.
For 30 years, I worked in very male environments as a journalist in the world of design, architecture and planning. Yet, rarely did I feel I was treated in any specific way because of my gender. I was simply, Emma, who has specialist interests and expertise.
Today, I see so much of the good work carried out in my lifetime – of uniting our communities, ending religious, race and gender discrimination, levelling class advantage, creating a world of mutual respect and courtesy – has been horribly undone, for financial and political gain, in the blink of an eye.
The past three years have seen some of the most publicly divisive political moments of our generation. Hatred whipped up for political advantage led, horrifically, to verbal and physical attacks, and the terrible murder of a young MP with her life ahead of her.
Politics seems to be aiming for the lowest common denominator. We have, in my view, a populist PM coming in to office – whose private life is more Love Island than Till Death Do Us Part.
Why should a woman feel they must behave like a man in order to get ahead politically? Why must they laugh at sexist jokes and “locker room” behaviour, turn a blind eye to bullying, racism and sexual harassment, to be treated as equals? Our two women PMs have done little or nothing to further the progress of women in the workplace.
The appalling barracking by the majority party we saw this week at PMQs may be just the start. With a PM who is forgiven anything he does in advance – even blatant racism – it can only get worse.
But let’s remember every day why this is happening. Despite the daily MSM onslaught against the socialist ideology and Labour’s “gentler politics”, personified in our leader, we are still ahead in the polls – 2% up even on the day our new PM was crowned.
Our Labour party leader was elected by the membership in 2015 with a vote of 251,417 – and when challenged the following year, this increased by nearly 62,000 to 313,209.
The incoming PM has been elected by his membership to lead his party and the country by a relatively pathetic 92,153.
But his divisive behaviour will split his own party too.
We must acknowledge that this is our moment. The new PM will fail. He will fail to lead, fail to gain respect, and he will fail to deliver any kind of acceptable Brexit.
The incoming PM is motivated by venal ambition.
Our leader is there to serve.
If we are to form an honourable opposition, we must not accept divisive attacks from outside or within our party which are deliberately targeted to drive a wedge through our great socialist movement.
So how do we counter the toxic cloud which will continue to envelop the political arena over the summer?
- We need to continue to challenge every social injustice, no matter how “minor”. Everyday injustice unchallenged will grow like a virus. We can and must stop it by never allowing it to spread.
- We must not accept the labels they will try to impose on us. We must carve out our own way of operating, draw red lines, and stick to them.
- We should name and treasure our personal values, and look for shared values with everyone we come into contact with.
- We mustn’t fall for their distraction techniques and personal attacks. We must rebut firmly, then return to our agenda, or they will eat our time.
- We must be strong and consistent.
- We must continue to protest, march and shout – but also research, record, report, lobby, and demand specific change through official channels from those who can deliver that change. We need to build our evidence and use that to fight back.
- We must somehow learn to work together with those whose views are similar if not 100% in line with ours.
- Never be disheartened, and never give up.
Stand firm. We can win this time.