It’s time to reflect on what the Tories have done for women. Nothing.

14 years of Tory rule has failed women (Picture: Simon Walker / No 10 Downing Street)

Let’s call a spade a spade – 14 years of Tory rule has failed women.

From deep-rooted inequality, culture wars pitting marginalised women against each other, the gender pay gap and violence against women at epidemic levels, this International Women’s Day (IWD) should be one of shame for Rishi Sunak’s party.

And you just have to look at the latest Budget.

It’s sadly no surprise to me that the Women’s Budget Group (WBG), which does fantastic work analysing the impact of policies on women, says the Chancellor’s tax give-aways benefit men over women. For example, single men will gain on average close to £500 more a year than lone mothers.

The WBG has also been clear that cutting taxes at the expense of investment in public services has a detrimental impact on women. It is women who rely on public services the most and make up the majority of its workforce, but public services now face real-terms cuts.

With the pay gap still at a stubborn 14.3%, these tax cuts disproportionately favour men and high-income households.

While we all support tax cuts for working people, it needs to be sensible and when the economy allows. It should come as a package of measures to ensure fairness for all and ensure a better standard of living for all.

The Tories prioritised tax cuts and giveaways as a desperate and cynical pre-election gimmick – putting a bit of extra money in your pocket with one hand, while pickpocketing money out of your pocket with the other.

But there is deep-rooted inequality in the system. And the truth is, if we can frame the Budget around women, it will inevitably work better for everyone.

Unfortunately, even in the last throes of a failing Government, they couldn’t prioritise women.

After 14 years of the Tories, our public services are on the verge of collapse due to chronic underinvestment and we are in a recession.

My constituents in Brent want good schools, they want to be able to get a doctor and a dentist appointment, but the Tories have been destroying the very services that make my constituents’ lives better.

The Budget offered precious little for women (Picture: UK Parliament)

Even prior to the Budget, it was reported that councils in England were told to cut spending on diversity schemes. This tells us everything we need to know about the Government’s approach to equality.

It is all about the fake culture wars.

As Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, I pledged we would subject any new legislation to ‘equality proofing’ before, during and after implementation of any government policy. 

This means every policy would be tested, and – if necessary – amended to ensure it does not disproportionately negatively impact one group over another.

I will continue to lobby the Labour Party to ensure that we have this continued commitment as, without that, I fear women will continue to bear the brunt. This comes about after almost a decade-and-a-half of crippling austerity, which was especially hard on women and Black, Asian and minority ethnic people.

I want to see three specific priorities to help women.

Despite International Women’s Day, men are once again expected to gain the most from the Government’s measures

The first is increased funding for women’s refuges, including specialist refuges. This is because violence against women and girls is at epidemic levels, with one woman killed by a man on average every three days.

Yet, survivors are being turned away from refuges, amid a funding squeeze. There’s little point in sending condolences when you can actually do something about it.

I also wanted to see the Government adopt a policy I have long campaigned for – offer 10 days paid leave for victims of domestic violence in order to give survivors time to leave abusive partners safely and seek support. This crucial time would save lives.

And I wanted to see renewed effort to end the gender and ethnicity pay gaps, after years of Conservative inaction. The Labour Party has committed to closing that gap if we are lucky enough to form the next government.

My calls are backed up by action plans setting out how large companies will remedy any injustices, or face further auditing and fines.

These policies are not out of date, they are overdue. If we had implemented these policies long ago, we would have made so much more progress towards equality.

Despite International Women’s Day, men are once again expected to gain the most from the Government’s measures, and I can see that relative poverty will likely increase – all while people across the country are struggling with the cost of living.

We need a stronger, fairer economy, with higher living standards for all. We will not get this from the Tories and that is why it’s time for change.

After 14 years of failure, corruption and incompetence, it’s time for a General Election now.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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