Almost a month ago, the SKWAWKBOX spoke to the excellent Labour MP Laura Pidcock in what has since become a famous interview. Asked about the phenomenon of Labour MPs being too cosy with their Tory counterparts who are damaging our country and hurting our people, Ms Pidcock replied:
Whatever type they are, I have absolutely no intention of being friends with any of them. I have friends I choose to spend time with. I go to parliament to be a mouthpiece for my constituents and class – I’m not interested in chatting on.
I feel disgusted at the way they’re running this country, it’s visceral – I’m not interested in being cosy. I hate those Tory questions that start with ‘Does the PM agree with me..?’ – when one Tory MP stood up and asked one I told him I think those questions are disgraceful. His response was ‘you mustn’t be a very good MP‘!
The idea that they’re not the enemy is simply delusional when you see the effect they have on people – a nation where lots of people live in a constant state of fear whether they even have enough to eat.
Those words sparked an outburst of faux-outrage from Tories, ‘centrist’ Labour MPs and commentators – a level of frankly misogynist and classist attack on Ms P that would never have taken place had she been male and privileged.
But it set a political narrative that still continues.
On Wednesday, Ms Pidcock was interviewed by BBC Five Live’s Emma Barnett, one of the more condescending BBC presenters – and was, of course, asked about those comments. Here’s how she responded:
Labour's @LauraPidcockMP tells @EmmaBarnett she wouldn't have a pint with a Tory MP after calling their ideology 'the enemy' #5liveDaily pic.twitter.com/VAVcudemGH
— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) September 6, 2017
The attacks on and condescension toward Laura Pidcock have been shameful – but the phenomenon has framed the political narrative in a way that illustrates the power both of social media and of an MP who stands up, stands out and speaks the truth in a way that makes sense instead of dancing around it.
Had Ms P not spoken to this blog or not made those comments, would virtually every publication in the country and many abroad be talking about Tory damage to the UK and its people? Would the idea ‘Tories are the enemy’ have the currency and recognition that it now has?
We suspect not – and we applaud Ms Pidcock’s honesty and forthrightness that is striking the same chord with voters that her party leader’s authenticity plainly does.
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My concern would not be that she was too forthright. Rather, that she was too timid and only considers the Tories the enemy.
Any MP who voted to voted to bomb Syria is vermin.
Well done Laura , J Phillips and others would do very well indeed to take a lesson from Laura on how to be a true upstanding Labour MP who genuinely represents proper Labour values .
Unlike Laura, and Chris Williamson, there are some Labour MPs who don’t even recognise enemies withing their own ranks, let alone across the house on the Tory benches.
Laura is right. It is about professionalism, you are civil, polite,professional and you can then collaborate to get things done. Being matey with someone who has an opposite agenda to yours is not only disingenuous, it is not in the least helpful, it blurs professional boundaries and you may start to feel beholden to someone you would rather not.
COME ON LAURA, WE LOVE YOU!
YOUR FORTHRIGHTNESS IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR!
STICK WITH WHAT YOU BELIEVE, DON’T LET THOSE WITH AN AGENDA CHANGE YOU!
Those who understand need no explanation. Those that need an explanation don’t matter.
Bollocks to them. Let them stamp their feet, Making twunts of themselves, is all.
Reblogged this on MAL's MURMURINGS.