A new week in politics and a new Prime Minister appoints his cabinet. Any hopes that a revival of one-nation conservatism could happen under Rishi Sunak have been dashed with the appointments of Braverman and Badenoch.
Suella Braverman’s return as Home Secretary proves that her recent resignation was not about mis-sent emails and the ministerial code, but was rather the “Et tu, Brute?” moment for Liz Truss. That being completed, her return to the Home Office is a reward for services rendered to her “beneficent” leader.
Culture war warrior and self-proclaimed “anti-woke” candidate Kemi Badenoch, who abstained on the vote to allow same sex marriage in Northern Ireland, is now Minister for Women & Equalities. This perfectly encapsulates the attitude to equalities by this Government. They would rather win points playing to the gallery of party members and Daily Mail readers than give a helping hand to anyone suffering from prejudice and discrimination. Ms Badenoch’s past statements on issues affecting the LGBT community also bring into question her suitability for the role.
The Prime Minister continues to show how little the Conservatives value women, by also appointing Badenoch the Secretary of State for International Trade. How anyone could think this is not a full-time role post Brexit is beyond me, but it clearly illustrates how little women and equalities matter to this Government.
Women at the median point of earnings are now being paid £226 a year less than when the Conservatives came to power.
Out of the 1.5 million additional people who found themselves in poverty due to austerity during the last decade, six out of ten are women!
If we want to build a country that values women, is focused on creating an equal society and welcomes refugees (rather than dreams of flying them to Rwanda like the current Home Secretary), then we must grasp the thistle of Independence.
Sure, it will be a bit prickly to begin with, but it allows us to build a Scotland that works for everyone who lives here and where the door is open and the kettle is on for folk that need our help.
The alternative is a union in which we can already see that the new emperor has no clothes and nothing to offer us. It’s time for us to choose our own path.
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Zara Pennington is a WFI National Committee member, a politics student and an activist. She lives in Shetland and successfully campaigned to open participation in Up Helly Aa to everyone, ending generations of discriminatory practice.