Boris Johnson’s ‘anti-woke’ agenda fuels sexism in parliament, says senior Labour woman

Cabinet minister Kwasi Kwarteng blames misconduct in Westminster on ‘bad apples’

‘That anti-woke culture has allowed this sort of behaviour to be seen as the norm,’ said Barking MP Margaret Hodge (PA Archive)

Boris Johnson’s “anti-woke agenda” has helped fuel the rise in misogynistic behaviour in parliament, one of Labour’s most senior women MPs has said.

Margaret Hodge’s comments came after the resignation of Tory MP Neil Parish for watching porn in the Commons chamber, and amid a flood of complaints about women at Westminster being groped, objectified and belittled because of their sex.

Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is to convene a once-in-a-generation conference to bring parties and parliamentary authorities together to find solutions to the problem of bullying and sexual harassment. These could involve ending the arrangement where MPs directly employ their own staff, making it difficult for them to complain about their treatment.