Should MPs be suspended over misogyny? Have your say

Vote in our reader poll and let us know what you think about the fallout after The Mail on Sunday’s Basic Instinct article on Angela Rayner

The Independent
Wednesday 27 April 2022 13:40 BST
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Labour Party deputy leader Angela Rayner was asked her views on gender identity (Gareth Fuller/PA)
Labour Party deputy leader Angela Rayner was asked her views on gender identity (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Archive)

The fallout from The Mail on Sunday’s ’Basic Instinct’ article on Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner continues to bubble on with the newspaper’s editor David Dillon rejecting Speaker Lindsay Hoyle’s invitation to meet and discuss the article.

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The story published on Sunday claimed that an unnamed Tory MP had told the newspaper Ms Rayner crossed and uncrossed her legs on the Labour front bench during Prime Minister’s Questions in an attempt to distract Boris Johnson. The paper likened the claims to a scene from the 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct and said she was trying to put the PM “off his stride”.

Since then, amid widesporead condemnation, Mr Johnson called the comments “misogynistic tripe”, while Labour leader Keir Starmer said that it was part of a “sexist” culture in parliament which must be changed.

Harriet Harman, the longest serving female MP in parliament, has demanded change to the Commons code of conduct to make misogyny an offence punishable by suspension from the house.

We want to know what you think. Do you think MPs should be suspended over misogyny? Cast your vote in our reader poll below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Check back soon to see the results of the reader poll.

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