Oh, the agony of watching Question Time last night as Defence Secretary Philip Hammond appeared to be quite unable to distinguish between two Labour female frontbenchers.
It is hardly surprising that he is unused to encountering the lesser-spotted female of the species on the Conservative frontbench — think of that PMQs a fortnight ago when David Cameron’s frontmen made having two X chromosomes look distinctly out of fashion.
Hammond’s faux pas was that he repeatedly referred to shadow health minister Liz Kendall as “Rachel”, presumably confusing Kendall with her colleague Rachel Reeves, the shadow work and pensions secretary.
The Secretary for Defence was finally put in his place when Kendall, MP for Leicester West, called him on his repeated mistake. “I know we all look the same,” she added, witheringly. An incredulous Rachel Reeves joked on Twitter: “Am I on #bbcqt this evening? Apparently Philip Hammond thinks I am. Or maybe it was @leicesterliz...”
Hammond’s problem with women is only the latest humiliation in the Tory party’s recent failings in gender equality. David Cameron has said he wants a third of his government to be female by the next election, but with women making up just 16 per cent of all Tory MPs — compared with 31 per cent in Labour — it is hard to see that happening, especially as several have already located the exit door.
Perhaps the PM should start with a more modest aim — teaching members of his frontbench how to identify correctly the deadlier of the species.
