The former Education Secretary claimed attitudes towards both issues had deteriorated sharply, fuelled by social media and online grievance culture.
Former Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson (Image: Getty)
Labour’s women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson was branded “stupid” by a senior Conservative yesterday after claiming racism and sexism have become “normal” in Britain. Speaking to The Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast, Ms Phillipson, who was shifted from her previous role as education secretary in the recent reshuffle, said attitudes towards both issues had deteriorated sharply, fuelled by social media and online grievance culture.
She said: “Things that not very long ago felt totally unacceptable are becoming normal. And I think we’re seeing that in terms of attitudes towards women, and I think we see that in terms of attitudes around racism. And what unites them is a desire to take our country backwards.”
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy (Image: PA)
She accused Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick and Tory justice spokesman Nick Timothy of making racist remarks. Last October Mr Jenrick said he “didn’t see another white face” during a visit to an area of Birmingham. Earlier this year Mr Timothy described a mass Muslim prayer session in Trafalgar Square as an “act of domination and division”.
Ms Phillipson said of Mr Timothy’s comments: “Apparently I’m calling him names when I say that’s racist. I think it is fundamentally racist because I don’t think he would say that about any other group.”
She added that she was “profoundly worried” about rising misogyny, explaining: “I worry about our daughters. I worry about the kind of world that they’re growing up into. But also worry about our sons and what they’re being exposed to, especially online and the extent to which we have this whole industry that’s been built up on exploiting grievance and encouraging young men to think that the problems they’re experiencing… are somehow down to women.”
Shadow Justice Secretary Mr Timothy hit back hard, saying: “If Phillipson can identify the racial groups to whom I was racist, she can call me racist. If she can’t, she’ll go on sounding stupid. And I’ll go on saying mass Muslim prayer in public spaces is an act of domination.”
He later told the Daily Mail that her remarks illustrated the dangers of Labour’s proposed non-statutory definition of “Islamophobia”. Free speech campaigners have warned the definition could chill legitimate debate.
Mr Timothy said: “There is a world of difference between racial identity and religious beliefs. You can’t help being the race you are, but you choose the beliefs you hold. And religious beliefs – like any other ideas – should be scrutinised and challenged and satirised freely.
“If she can identify the racial groups to whom I have been racist, she is entitled to call me a racist. If she can’t, and just shouts ‘racist’ at political opponents instead of debating them, she is not only proving the limitations of her own mind [but] is proving beyond doubt that this ‘Islamophobia’ definition is wrong, dangerous and must be scrapped.
“I will go on saying exactly what I think – and so should everyone else.”
Ms Phillipson also criticised police “failings” over violence against women and girls, warning the country was at “ground zero” on the issue. The row highlights deepening political divisions over free speech, integration and the boundaries of acceptable public comment.