Most major parties have now published their manifestos for the 2010 General Election. Over the next week we'll be reviewing the proposals of the various parties analysing any obvious misandry as well as pro gender equality content. Let's start by taking a look at Labour's plans for the next five years.
Given their track record since 1997, not to mention their sexist MPs, and the use of All Women Shortlists, the Labour Party is a almost certainly the most sexist party in Britain. However, for the purpose of this post, lets stick solely to the content of the manifesto as we are going to do with the other parties. The first sign of sexism is their boasts regarding the disastrous Equality Act. This legislation allows employers to discriminate on the basis of gender when recruiting staff instead of choosing the best person for the job. Legalising sex discrimination really isn't a valid method of promoting "fairness across our society" as they claim. The manifesto cites how the Equality Act will increase equality of opportunity when it's actually reducing equality and pushing unfair equal outcomes instead.
Further notable sexism in Labour's manifesto concerns the area of domestic violence. Section 5:3 concerning domestic violence states "we are committed to zero tolerance of violence against women". Whilst such a commitment is impressive, we mustn't forget that Home Office figures show that 40% of domestic violence vicitms are men. It's quite sickening that so many domestic violence vicitms dont' even get the slightest mention, nevermind any sort of commitment to their well-being or deal with their attackers. The party do at least note how domestic violence had fallen by 50%, though unsurprisingly, under New Labour the number of male vicitms bucked the trend and actually risen significantly! Clearly the number of male vicitms is likely to continue to rise under a Labour government given such a willingness to pretend that female perpetrators don't exist.
Perhaps the most offensive part of labour's plans for the next five years is the section titled "Punishment and Reform". On the one hand it talks about giving longer sentences to the most violent and serious offenders, yet the next sentence makes a commitment to "work to reduce the number of women, young and mentally ill people in prison". Given that violence by females is on of the fastest growing crimes in society and that the number of male domestic violence vicitms is increasing, then surely the two statements are completely contradictory? Further still, given that the police have largely ignored female paedophiles until recently and caught a shamefully small proportion of them, is the party suggesting that raping children isn't a serious crime? A Labour candidate yesterday suggested the Liberal Democrats would be giving the vote to the likes of Vanessa George, yet given the content of the manifesto, presumably his own party is going to go further and release her altogether!
We should note that the policies proposed here aren't just misandric, the manifestos is also extremely offensive and damaging to women. Labour are also lumping in adult females with children and the mentally ill. There's a clear suggestion that women aren't at all equal to men, instead they're some sort of child like and mentally deficient beings, incapable of telling right from wrong and thus immune from punishment. Ending such infantalisation of women would do far more for equality in the workplace than any so called "positive" discrimination or pay audits.
Labour talk about a commitment to "always put the victim first" in criminal cases, yet there's no mention of how they' will protect men form false allegation allegations and put a stop to the deadly consequences of such incredibly serious offences.
In the interests of balance, we should examine any positive aspects of the manifesto in terms of commitments to gender equality. However, having read the documents I saw no mention of the gender education gap, the suicide rate, deaths at work, men's health and poor life expectancy, nor even any mention of equal parenting. It's all very well Labour proposing slightly more time off for fathers, but if they can't actually get to see their kids or if requires the mother's permission then they're basically just rubbing salt into the wound for so many dads. Further still, proposing four week's paternity leave for fathers, and 52 for mothers seems strange at best. The only positive aspects of the document are the recognition of the importance of marriage and that the Family Courts are in need of review. Yet even when talking about issues such as helping parents back to work, they bizarrely continue their misandry by stating the importance of "especially" helping mothers out of poverty.
Rather tellingly, Labour's manifesto doesn't' even restrict misandry to these shores, there's also a commitment to doubling funding to the new UN Women's Agency. I'm not exactly sure what the point of that is as most of the UN tend to be only concerned with the needs of women as it is, even going as far as denying food to male earthquake vicitms. If nothing else this certainly demonstrates quite clearly Labour's contempt for men, not only at home, but abroad too.
well analysed! I look forward to more news of the other parties..
Posted by: drex | Saturday, 24 April 2010 at 01:28
Once again, JK, you are doing the work of an investigatory journalist, and doing it well.
If I might be so bold, sir, I suggest that you not only continue in this vein for our education but copy and email your pieces to the better press, such as the Spectator, and even the dailies. Feed the professional journos. Delingpole could do with some ammunition.
Posted by: amfortas | Saturday, 24 April 2010 at 02:22
Thanks for your work, JK. This kind of misandric garbage that is constantly dished up by our political parties needs to be exposed more widely. None of them will get my vote.
Posted by: paul parmenter | Sunday, 25 April 2010 at 08:02
I have just found something emanating from the Labour party that I can almost admire. It is their brazen cheek.
I got home tonight from another full day's work earning money, a good half of which will naturally be filched by our political masters to waste on their endless potty schemes and bribes for their supporters. And I found a pile of electoral literature on my front door mat. Before I tipped it all into the trash can I thought I might as well have a quick read to see what the liars are promising to me now. Nearly all of the literature was from Labour, and included this gem:
A leaflet with colour pictures of a bunch of Labour-supporting so-called "celebs" (none of whom I would give house-room to) with the message "We all agree on one thing. It's vital that Labour wins this election. Because if we make a mess of the economy now, we are in deep trouble."
I kid you not. Those are the actual words, copied verbatim.
Ahem.
The Labour party are of course responsible for already making a gigantic mess of our economy, and we are of course already in deep trouble, thanks to them.
So what is going on in the tiny minds of these idiotic people, for them to think we are so stupid as to fall for such tosh?
It is all at one with their misandry. That too is born from the same profound ignorance coupled with an unbelievable degree of arrogance.
Posted by: Paul Parmenter | Wednesday, 05 May 2010 at 18:22