Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told the BBC that politics is “riddled with shocking misogyny”. To be fair to the Prime Minister, his arm has been twisted somewhat. Following a series of scandals, including Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein and former Downing Street communications chief Matthew Doyle’s friendship with another convicted sex offender, female Labour MPs have been lining up to decry this government.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told reporters last week that Labour briefings were “dripping with misogyny”. Labour MP Polly Billington took to the airwaves after the Mandelson news broke to disavow the “boys’ club” in her party, telling the World At One that there were “no” female Labour MPs who hadn’t had some kind of run-in with the lads. It’s no surprise that Starmer has now jumped on this bandwagon himself.

Some of this is hard to believe. If Cabinet meetings are “dripping” with hatred for women, surely the Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson, should have done something about it by now. If every woman in the Labour Party is sick of the longstanding “boys’ club”, why was there no clamouring for change before the Mandelson scandal broke out?

Even Starmer doesn’t actually believe that his party is full of contempt for women. His full answer to the BBC’s question about claims of misogyny made sure to include that “this isn’t linked just to one party. It’s in all political parties.” It’s a funny kind of admission to say: yes, I’m surrounded by people who hate women, but I’m not the only one.

But, for a party which is so determined to see misogyny rooted out, Labour has a woefully poor record when it comes to women. It has just emerged that the Government is taking advice from — and funding — Brendan Cox, the widower of Jo Cox, who has admitted in the past to sexual misconduct. There’s the Mandelson case, in which a desire to court Trump using the Prince of Darkness’s special diplomatic powers overcame any ickiness about the company he kept.

Before that, there were the years of trans madness. The Labour Party prioritised the fantasies of men over the biological realities and political demands of women. Then, there’s the big elephant in the room: the grooming gangs scandal, in which real, violent misogyny was enacted on women and girls. Despite crowing about how important it is to stick up for women, many victims of these scandals have accused Labour of being useless when discussing the political failings that allowed such abuse to take place over decades.

Starmer says, “we have to discuss together how we are going to change” misogyny in politics. In the past, politicians have reached for legislative measures such as making misogyny a hate crime, suggesting new street harassment laws, or clamping down on online free speech in the name of protecting women from mean comments. But the greatest insult to women is not a boys’ club: it’s the pretence that we need to be protected by paternalistic and patronising politicians. Sure, there are still sexist idiots in politics. Let’s not let them call the shots when it comes to deciding what women really want.

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Ella Whelan is a freelance journalist, commentator and author of What Women Want: Fun, Freedom and an End to Feminism.

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