A veteran Tory MP has sparked outrage after saying he would not support Kemi Badenoch to become Conservative Party leader because she is “preoccupied with her children”.
Sir Christopher Chope told ITV News that the front-runner in the leadership race would not be able to commit to the role of opposition leader because he has young children.
Mr Chope said he supports Mr Badenoch's opponent, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, adding:
“I like Kemi, but I think she's preoccupied with her children, of course. I think Robert's children are a little older, and I think she's preoccupied with her children. I think it's important that the person leading it has a huge amount of time and energy.”
Both candidates have three children. Ms Badenoch's youngest child is 5 years old and Ms Jenrick's youngest child is 8 years old.
Mr Chope's comments were immediately condemned by Conservative, Labor and Liberal Democrat MPs, with Mr Jenrick distancing himself from them.
Liz Jarvis, Liberal Democrat MP; tweeted“The idea that women are less able to take leading roles in public life because they have young families is an attitude that should be long gone.''
Helena Dollimore, a Labor backbencher, Posted“I didn't think there was anything that would shock me about the current state of the Conservative Party, but it was just sitting there watching Christopher Chope give his opinion on whether mothers should be able to lead the party. That was before I had to.”
Labor colleague Stella Creasy added: “That's why we urgently need to sort out parental leave. Because until people wonder if fathers are just as preoccupied with their children as mothers, dinosaurs will always be mine.” Because you're walking among people… or in this case, the Congressional Modernization Committee.”
A spokesperson for Mr Jenrick also denied Mr Chope's comments, saying: “Rob does not agree with this. He is also raising three young daughters himself.”
Mr Badenoch himself came under fire for suggesting maternity benefits were “excessive”, but is currently the front-runner in the Conservative leadership race and will face off against Mr Jenrick on Thursday night's GB News TV show. I plan to.
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Mr. Chope denied Mr. Badenoch's comments about her being a woman. Speaking to Times Radio later that day, they insisted they were justified.
“To reiterate a point I made earlier, it's unlikely that she will be able to devote as much time as she needs because Kemi has a young family. A young family,” he said. said.
“That's not to suggest that she's unfit to be leader of the opposition or anything like that. And I think there's a lot of shenanigans going on here.
“All I'm saying is that one of the candidates has a younger family than the other, and I'd rather spend more time with my family than going to a far-flung district.” I also have a history of
This summer, it was revealed that US Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance had launched an attack on “childless cat women,” sparking outrage over misogyny in the political world.
2016 Conservative Party leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the race She appeared to suggest that being a mother gave her an advantage over her childless rival Theresa May.
Three years ago, UKIP politician Godfrey Bloom said the room discussing women in politics was “full of sluts” after two of his colleagues admitted they didn't clean the back of their fridges. , controversial.
