It is up to men to make politics better for women by ending misogynistic behaviour, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
When asked how politics can be made more welcoming to women, the Scottish First Minister said: “Men have to stop being misogynists.”
She added: “Not all men are misogynists, but misogyny comes from men and that’s what needs to change.
“It’s not women that need to change, it’s the conduct and behaviour and attitudes of men."
The debate was heightened after unnamed Tory MPs accused Angela Rayner of attempting to distract Boris Johnson
James Manning
Ms Sturgeon went on to say that women are too often reduced “to their body parts”.
She continued: “I’ve been subject to that, all women in public life have been.
“And, also, this suggestion that the failures of men can always be laid at the door of a woman.
“The fact that Boris Johnson performs poorly in the House of Commons, the fact that Angela Rayner manages to out-debate him on every occasion that they’re up against each other, is somehow Angela Rayner’s fault rather than the fact that Boris Johnson’s just not very good at his job.”
When asked what repercussions those who briefed the story to the press should face, the First Minister said that was for the Conservative Party to decide, adding she hoped they would be dealt with “seriously”.
The First Minister’s comments come after a story in the Mail on Sunday which explained how an anonymous Tory MP accused the Labour deputy leader of attempting to distract Mr Johnson by crossing and uncrossing her legs in the Commons chamber.
The comments, which were widely condemned, resulted in calls from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to end the “misogynistic culture” in Westminster.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Peter Summers