‘Fourty years on, women in Labour are still being told to wait their turn’

I read the article by Jessica Smith and found myself thinking about 1988. I learned a lot about the Labour Party that year: when I stood to be CLP Women’s Officer, I was taken to one side, told there was an incumbent and that it would be inappropriate to stand against her. I should wait my turn.

I was a delegate to annual conference and, when reporting back to another branch, watched as the few women there got up and walked out in unison about half an hour into the meeting. I was invited to follow them only to be told that we would now make tea and coffee for the (male) delegates.

There was a leadership election that year, and I stood behind Ron Todd in the queue to register our (paper) votes. The woman in front of him presented her one CLP vote for Benn/Heffer, whereupon Ron laughed, said ‘Sorry love’ and declared ‘Eight million votes from the TGWU for Neil Kinnock and Roy Hattersley’.

Power.

Although I have been a member for almost forty years (apart from a two year break when it all felt a bit grim) it’s years since I have been an activist. So it was a shock to return to ‘active service’ a couple of years ago and see what has, and what hasn’t changed. 

READ MORE: ‘Young Labour women must take up space’

Jessica describes being made to feel like she shouldn’t be in the room, that she has to police herself, that she mustn’t ever make a mistake or misspeak. No one should be made to feel like this, particularly within a political party that prides itself on progressive values.

One of the joys of my working life has been the opportunity to learn from those who have gone before, to understand the struggles and fights of the past, what has worked and what hasn’t. But that on its own isn’t enough, without action and without the next generations we risk being pickled in aspic, looking backwards and not forwards. So the time I spend with young people in the housing sector is a joy, and a privilege. I have learned so much, hopefully shared a bit of wisdom and held doors open for them to run through. I’m proud of helping make the case for CIH Futures and am now watching those first cohorts begin to change the world, solving problems in a way that blows my mind. They are incredible people.

At no point have I felt like I now do in the Labour Party, where the pockets of contempt towards people, particularly women, of my age is overwhelming. WhatsApp groups are full of disdain for ‘Boomers’ and it all feels a bit too Logan’s Run for comfort. This is by no means universal, but there are pockets, and those pockets are pretty deep, and pretty dark.

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As always in the Labour Party, so much of this comes from factionalism, with a side order of old-fashioned misogyny. I have watched as young women are volunteered for (often admin) tasks without their agreement, seen the distress caused when instructions on how to vote are sent by WhatsApp during meetings. Ageist epithets are used when older women refuse to be biddable and all in the name of one faction of the party or another one. There are a plethora of unaccountable organisations exerting real power and influence both on the edges of and at the heart of Labour and the party would be well advised to get a grip of some of these.

External structures increasingly recognise that diversity is best served having time limits on boards and committees. This is hard for democratic institutions to grapple with but we must be mindful of balance and of diversity in all its forms, including opinion.

So Jessica, your voice needs to be heard, it is not okay that you are made to feel unwelcome, just like it wasn’t okay forty years ago. I’d love to sit and have a brew with you, to learn from you and maybe hatch out a plan to call out the ageism and misogyny that still exists in Labour. Whatever you do, don’t give up.

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