With John Healey ‘s appointment as chancellor of the exchequer, I am wondering whether the gutter media, and the slow-witted folk who believe every word they come up with, will start referring to ‘John from accounts’? It’s a serious point. Rachel Reeves, who was yesterday sacked as chancellor by new prime minister Andy Burnham, was referred to by much of the media as ‘Rachel from accounts’, so why not Healey? I’ll give you the answer: it’s pure and simple sexism, with added class war.
Reeves was a working class girl who did well. She was the daughter of teachers who herself went to a Comprehensive state school. She then went to university where she excelled and got a degree in economics. Ideal qualifications, you might say, to be in charge of the nations finances. Not for some, though.
As chancellor, Reeves did a fine job in restoring the economy from the mess she inherited from the serially incompetent Conservative government. And when Donald Trump declared his disastrous war on Iran, she continued to keep the economy stable. Sure there were missteps along the way, like getting rid of the winter fuel payment for one year – good policy, bad politics – but generally the girl done great. But not good enough for the male-dominated media, largely owned by the super rich and elite who are appalled by the very idea of a woman – A WOMAN, I ask you – holding down a job as important as chancellor. Surely, she should not be promoted beyond the level of secretary, making the tea for her male superiors?
I am not surprised by the snobbery of the media, which generally detests the idea of women doing anything beyond tea making, but it’s when Ordinary People, your so-called man or woman, but mainly woman, in the street who refers to ‘Rachel from accounts’. Do people just not get it? Do they not see that this pathetic, sly little dig is aimed at them, just as much as it is aimed at the former chancellor? They are saying, ‘Get back in your box! You’re a second class citizen.’
Although we have now had three female prime ministers, it seems to me that attitudes have barely changed at all. The first female PM, Margaret Thatcher, is not just responsible for almost everything that is wrong in today’s Britain, despite being out of office since 1990 and dead since 2013, she set back the cause of women decades. And because of the way the establishment operates in the UK, the next two women prime ministers, Theresa ‘Strong and Stable’ May and the ludicrous Liz Truss, did not receive any of the opprobrium Reeves has faced. Despite being completely useless, May and Truss were part of the aforementioned establishment party. If you’re a bright working class woman – see also Angela Rayner – it’s open season.
So it’s a big welcome to John from accounts, as no one will call him. Sexism is alive and kicking, as ever it was. And the worst thing is people who should know better – actual working and middle class people – meekly go along with it.
