LabourList at the Fabian Conference

Today, LabourList is at the Fabian Conference at Imperial College in West London. Here are a few of our highlights so far:

Johann Hari on Feminism:

You might think Johann Hari is an odd choice to sit on a panel discussing the future of feminism, but as he says himself, why wouldn’t a man want equal rights for half the population of the human species?

Johann’s contributions are actually the most fascinating: it’s not statistically probable that you’ll serve a prison sentence for rape until you have committed 37 rapes; for every 16 point rise in IQ in a man, he is 40% more likely to find a desirable partner, but fot every 16 point rise in a woman’s IQ, she is 40% less likely to find a desirable partner.

The panel is also talking about legislating policy such as that in Norway, which has a law that corporate boards must be 40% female.

The Politics of Responsibility:

Earlier, David Lammy spoke about the politics of responsibility. In response to Samantha Callan, Chair of the Family Law Review, he said ‘unlike my conservative colleague, I don’t see Britain as broken.’

He said that Labour achieved the NHS and welfare state out of only 22 years of government in the last century and that Labour need to be in government for much more of the 21st century if further such progressive forces are to be established.