The Prime Minister has acknowledged that women in public life face disproportionately higher levels of criticism and abuse compared to their male counterparts, stating, “it’s about time we acknowledge that.”
Sir Keir Starmer’s remarks follow Rachel Reeves’s statement to The Times, where she expressed frustration with being “mansplained how to be chancellor.”
According to the newspaper, she delivered the sentiment “with some force.”
Reeves, poised to present her second Budget as chancellor on Wednesday, also asserted, “I’ve seen off a lot of those boys before and I’ll continue to do so.”
In response to questions about her comments, Sir Keir affirmed his pride in appointing the UK’s first female chancellor.
“I strongly believe that women in public life get much more criticism and abuse than men,” he stated, adding, “In politics, but it’s also across a number of other areas. I’d also say the media frankly. And I think we need to acknowledge that.”
The PM also expressed his desire to welcome Angela Rayner, the former Deputy Prime Minister, back into government at some point.
Rayner, who served as housing secretary alongside her deputy role, resigned in September following a tax issue related to her purchase of a flat in Hove, East Sussex.
Referring to her twice as “Ange,” he told reporters: “I’m friends with Ange and I like Ange a lot and we talk a lot. We still do. It’s always good to have Angela.”
“I’ve always said I want Angela back. Even back in September, at the time, I said she is going to be a big voice in the Labour movement,” he said.
“But do I want Angela back at some stage? Yes absolutely.”
He added: “I think she is the best example ever in the United Kingdom of social mobility – going from a pretty challenging childhood to being deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom.
“She is the story of social mobility above all other stories.”
In a recent interview, Rayner did not dismiss the possibility of a return to frontline politics, telling the Daily Mirror she had not “gone away.”
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