I sympathise with Dawn Butler MP and her experiences as outlined today in the Observer regarding having to endure frequent racism from Politicians at Westminster. I was shocked by her account of her experience with former Tory minister David Heathcote-Amory who challenged her right to sit in the elected members area of the Commons' Thameside terrace, failing to understand or accept that yes, she too was an MP with every right to sit there.
For Dawn Butler to have to justify her existence at every juncture is understandably frustrating, and even soul destroying. It shows that there is a long way to go to ingrain a culture of diversity at Westminster, so that people do not have to be continually singled out for being different, or failing to fit in to the London club of male, middle class and white.
Of course, the Assembly still has a long way to go in reaching its potential in terms of attracting AMs from every walk of life, from differing ethnic groups, to differing social backgrounds. While we are strong on the gender front ( for now), and while Plaid has the first and only AM from an ethnic minority on its benches, I still believe that there is a small, but underlying apprehension to embrace change, or to accept people that do not fit into the perceived 'norm' of what it is to be a politician.
While generally I am treated equally and fairly ( for the record) on some occasions some people's observations or remarks- however harmless, can be annoying!
People forever mix me and Nerys Evans AM up ( even though we look completely different..but we are nearly the same age, so you can undestand their obvious confusion;-)), while others merely talk about me as 'that young AM' without even considering that I may have a name and a personality!
I do feel that I am patronzied sometimes, which can be frustrating, but I learn to bite my tongue and to say little in reply for fear of conforming to a youth image of immaturity and sensitivity..
Nevertheless, despite my surface concerns I must admit that the Assembly is much more inclusive than Westminster- just in the way that we work more than anything else. It seems that there is still much more to be done in 1) encouraging people from all walks of life to stand as candidates and to understand its importance and 2) be accepted and respected once they are elected...........
3 comments:
I remember Clare Short saying that male MPs used to snigger if cervical cancer or breast cancer were discussed and whilst she was trying to make her speeches some Tory MPs would make lude gestures.
The trouble is that for too long Westminster has been like an extension of a public school. Getting more women MPs has helped, but it's going to be a long slow process.
Given that the turnout at last year's Assembly election was a little short of 44% I think there's a great amount of disengagement with politics more generally.
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