Stop with the Harman-Bashing…

While the Prime Minister used a week of his precious Summer holidays to undergo some Community work in ‘sunny’ Kirkcaldy (I really admire Sarah Brown’s patience), Deputy Leader Harriet Harman recently occupied the Number 10 hot seat. Yet, rather than act merely as caretaker and keep business ticking over, she marked her time in Downing Street with some controversial comments about the banking crisis. Harman mused that if Lehmann brothers had in fact been ‘Lehmann sisters’ then the recession which now exists may never have occurred. She also offered the opinion that if we are ever to have real equality and stability in Government then we should both a man and a woman in the top job. This takes further her ideas to have employment quotas for the hiring of women, ethnic minorities and others in order to achieve true ‘equality’.

These comments were immediately jumped on as being anti-male, discriminatory and a further example of modern Britain abandoning common sense for political correctness. Candidates would not be hired on who was the best, but who would best fill equality quotas.

Of course everyone is entitled to an opinion, but one must ask, is it really such a celebration of freedom of speech if we lambast Harman every time she makes a particularly liberal statement? Too many of our MPs today are happy to sit on the fence for fear of upsetting voters or party bigwigs, so it is a refreshing change to see someone like Harman stand up for what she believes in. Further, can we really class the media and the general public’s view on the Deputy Leader as fair criticism, if all we hear is the same churned out insults and derogatory attitudes towards her social and political views? Is such opinion, really an opinion?

“Columnists who describe her as an idiot refuse to look at the story from a wider perspective.”

In most cases people will repeat what they hear, read and see on television, so if there is no diversity of opinion in the media then Joe Public will happily regurgitate whatever the majority view is. Headlines such as ‘A shame to women’ and columnists who describe her as an idiot refuse to look at the story from a wider perspective. Granted, some of her comments could be more carefully worded or explained, but if we look beyond the statement at face value the message is full of truth.

Quite frankly, people don’t seem to like the fact Harman has a spine and isn’t afraid to cause waves. These are the same people that are uncomfortable with the idea that social inequality still exists in Britain today, and stick their head in the sand by criticizing reformers like herself. Women have the vote, gays have civil partnerships, foreigners and ethnic minorities can live in our country – what more do they want?

A typical example would be the recent story of Lord Mandelson, touting the idea of giving poorer pupils a 2 grade head start in applying to University. Instead of looking at the proposal fairly and assessing both the benefits and drawbacks, most newspapers derided the scheme as a continuation of the ‘relentless assault on the middle class.’

Ask any female professional who is ultimately forced to choose between having a family and having a career whether the glass ceiling still exists. This is despite the fact that girls often outperform boys academically and are actually encouraged to ‘aspire to greatness.’ Ask any woman who looks at her salary and compares it to a male counterpart performing the same task for the same duration. When you look at the figures this flagrant breach of fairness resembles more of a gaping canyon than a crack in the pavement.

“Unsurprisingly, Harman gets little credit..”

I think it’s about time people gave it a rest with the Harriet Harman bashing. Some may have forgotten that she also used her time in office to cancel a Government inquiry into the handling of rape cases, and has instead dug her heels in to demand a more radical overhaul of the law than what had been proposed. It was a brave move that has allegedly caused rifts with senior cabinet members, but unsurprisingly Harman gets little credit and has been derided by many as a trouble maker.

With all the real problems going on in the world – poverty and disease, terrorism, war – we still find enough time to criticize Harman for her willingness to speak out. Fail that she is cursed as a power hungry lunatic, plotting deep into the night hell bent on becoming the Labour party’s next leader. Maybe the latter is true, but that is no reason to ignore the bigger picture. As the old saying goes, don’t shoot the messenger.

Olivia Amos