Helen GoodmanSometimes, when you are reading a newspaper, you rub your eyes and stare at the screen just to make sure that you haven’t misread; you check to make sure it’s not April first, and then you pinch yourself and..... yes... you remember that you’re living in the UK.... that is La La Land.
Today we have the story of poor wee Helen Goodman, a junior minister of sorts at the Dept of Work and Pensions. She has announced to the world that unless women are allowed to claim for cleaners on their expenses they will not be able to come into politics. (Note to jobcentre staff: Don’t try to force unemployed females into vacancies that don’t have a cleaner on expenses.)
Ms Goodman has suggested, according to the Daily Mail, that Kelly’s proposals are sexist because women do most of the cleaning, then she rattles on with a bundle of complaints about how unfair it all is, before she admits that she hasn’t actually read all of the report. How’s that, a minister of the crown mouthing off before she’s read the report?
Goodman, who is married with two children, claims £84 a month for cleaning on top of her £92,000+ salary.
Now maybe I’m a bit dim, but the way I see it, we all have to sort our lives out the way we can best live them. Within a family group we have different chores that we see to, because, no matter how high and mighty we are we still need to eat, sleep, wash, clean up and various other things, on top of doing our job. So, in lots of families where two parents are working, they share the cleaning duties, maybe with the kids or granny or grandad. If someone says that they cannot do their job properly (specially with a £90,000 salary) unless they have a cleaner on expenses, I would think maybe they should think about another career.
I also have to assume that Ms Goodman wouldn't be so selfish as to assume that the perk of cleaner should only apply to female MPs. I'm guessing that what she is suggesting is that all women who work should be able to put a cleaner on their expenses. As a minister at the Dept of Work and pensions, she may want to rethink that policy somewhat, or at lest run it by Yvette.
By the way Ms Goodman is not exactly a stranger to expenses scandal. Although she has only been an MP since 2005 she has managed to rack up a couple of indiscretions so far: renting a holiday cottage at £519 and submitting hotel bills for a period prior to her even being an MP.
Even for a Westminster trougher, that’s pushing the boat out.
Can her husband not get off his arse and clean the house? Or can she not bring her kids up to do the odd hoovering..sorry but this story really flabbergasted me. "My gast has never been so flabbered"!
ReplyDeleteIn short: New-Labour have ran try of ministerial talent, if people like her are anything to go by.
Tris..
ReplyDeleteIs this woman for real? So for a female to become a MP she will need a cleaner? Well I dear say she is one boot to come up with summit like that.
I'm sure after the next election she will find plenty of time to do her own cleaning!!
Another nutter who thinks they're above the rest. Why do all these politicians need cleaners? It's fashionable of course and they can also bring up the children you've produced but dislike under the title of cleaner.
ReplyDeleteSilly woman, showing up the level of her intelligence like this.
Of course you little people can't possibly understand.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what Harriet Harman the minister for women makes of this? She would probably approve as this woman was given her seat in Bishops Aukland via an all female list. It is understandable that we want more women in Parliament, but look at the standard you get from positive descrimination.
ReplyDeleteDean:
ReplyDeleteExactly. They are at bottom of the barrel. She's only been in parliament for 4 years and she's minister. Clearly not a very clever (or clean) one. But then when you look at the quality of the man that they have made Secretary of State for Defence you can see how low the quality of MPs is. The imbalance of people from the upper house in the government is quite frightening.
I have no idea why her husband and kids don't seem capable of the odd bit of cleaning, but it would appear they don't.... Maybe they are above that kind of thing....
Well Spook, there are two possibilities. Either she thinks that female MPs need a cleaner (suggesting that female MPs are a breed apart), or if she doesn't think MPs are a breed apart, I would think that she is saying that all female employees need a cleaner.
ReplyDeleteThat's a dangerous statement for a member of the minsterial team at the Department of Work and Pensions. Will she recommend that all females' terms and conditions, regardless of where they work, now reflect the need for them to have a cleaner on the company?
"I have no idea why her husband and kids don't seem capable of the odd bit of cleaning, but it would appear they don't.... Maybe they are above that kind of thing...."- Tris
ReplyDeleteLOL!
Nothing like the Labour party, representing the masses eh? Hahahah...they honestly are worse than the Tories [and that is one heck of an achievement!]
She's pretty dim Subrosa. I'm surprised that she hasn't seen the precedent that she is setting. She says a female can't do a full time job and clean the house and so must have a cleaner.
ReplyDeleteI know women who work full time at Tescos. Why would they not need a cleaner?
Aye Scunnert.... you've summed it up perfectly there.
ReplyDeleteMunguin. That's a good question. There's the business of equality of course, but we all know Harry thinks that women are equal in the same ways that the pigs were equal in "Animal Farm".
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how the economy will cope with all these women getting cleaners on expenses. Expect prices of everything to skyrocket.
The pity is I'm still going to have to do my own cleaning!
Dean:
ReplyDeleteMy granny had an expression.... "when dirt rises it flees"... I reckon as a Scot you can translate that! :-)
I'm just waiting for one of them to announce proudly that they didn't claim for their moat cleaning!