Why claiming Patel bullying is rooted in sexism is nonsense

I mention it because of what followed shortly thereafter. The Fawcett Society, a feminist campaign group that had sold the T-shirts in conjunction with Elle Magazine, withdrew them from sale after an investigation uncovered that they had been made in a Mauritian sweat shop by women working in exploitative conditions earning a mere 62p an hour.

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This was a prime example of “commodity feminism” where the language of feminism is absorbed by companies to sell stuff. It’s a meaningless nod to a vague concept of gender equality, without the action – or hard, uncomfortable work – that is required for it to become a reality.

I was reminded of the not-so-feminist T-shirt this week, as I watched a conveyor belt of insincere Tory men speak in the House of Commons and on television in defence of Home Secretary Priti Patel.

At the weekend, Sir Philip Rutnam, the permanent secretary at the Home Office, dramatically resigned his post and accused Patel of “belittling” and “bullying” staff. During the rain-soaked statement which he delivered outside his home, Rutnam said that he planned to sue the Government for constructive dismissal.

His announcement to stand down after 33 years of service was shocking in its candour. He claimed he had been the victim of a “vicious and orchestrated campaign” against him and all but called the Home Secretary a liar when he said he didn’t believe her denial that she played no part in it.

Soon after Rutman’s resignation, more allegations began to emerge about Priti Patel’s conduct in office. One former aide of Patel was awarded a £25,000 payout after she threatened legal action over “bullying” behaviour when she worked as a Department of Work and Pensions official and Patel was employment minister.

It is claimed that the same woman had taken an overdose and been hospitalised.

Allies of Patel said the accusations of bullying were made against the department, not Patel, and said it was “nothing to do with her at all”.

As former colleagues lined up to give off-the-record briefings to journalists about her “beastly” behaviour, there were just as many current Tory MPs willing to back her publicly.

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Their defence of the Home Secretary was centred around the claim that any complaint about her behaviour is rooted in sexism.

Who knew that all it would take to get Conservative men on board with the struggle for women’s equality was for a powerful woman in their own ranks to face accusations of bullying?

They defended her with vigour but without conviction. Patel, they said, was the one being bullied for being a strong woman in a man’s world. As the accusations mounted up, and an inquiry was announced, they shouted a bit louder that she was the victim of the most grotesque sexism.

They admitted that her style is “robust” but said that she needed to be tough to get the job done. And anyway, they said, if she was a man nobody would have a problem with allegations of similar behaviour.

Except, that’s not true. John Bercow is accused of bullying by some of his former colleagues, including David Leakey, a former Black Rod who has spoken out about Bercow’s “intolerable rudeness” and “explosive behaviour”. Far from defending his alleged behaviour as “robust”, the Conservative Government has deemed the claims so serious and unacceptable that they have attempted to block Bercow’s elevation to the House of Lords.

Let’s suspend our disbelief for a second and take these new male feminists at their word. Do they now oppose the two-child cap for tax credits, which has plunged so many women into poverty?

Will the upcoming budget see a complete reversal of their party’s pernicious austerity agenda which we know disproportionately affects women? Will they support scrapping the vile Rape Clause which forces women to disclose their trauma so they can feed their children?

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Will they be calling for the immediate suspension of all the men in their party who are accused of sexual harassment or abuse of women?

What about the actions of their former colleague, Mark Field? Is grabbing a female climate-change protester by the throat still justifiable, or have they had a rethink since becoming a party that claims to be concerned about the treatment of women?

Does their new-found love of “strong” women extend to women such as Baroness Warsi, who has spoken out about Islamophobia within the party and been dogged in pursuing an independent inquiry?

I highly doubt it. By claiming Patel is a victim of sexism and ignoring the serious allegations made against her, they are weaponising the very real problem of how women in public life are treated. The word “sexism” only ever crosses their lips when they are explaining away the misconduct of women in their party.

Feminist-in-chief Boris Johnson was flanked by Patel at Prime Minister’s Questions. Asked about the investigation into her behaviour and whether she would be sacked if it emerged that she had breached the ministerial code, the Prime Minister was defiant. He said the Home Secretary was doing an “outstanding” job and declared “I’m sticking by her”.

We’ll have to wait and see whether that commitment holds firm against many more days of negative media coverage and revelations.

I’ve no idea if Patel was one of the politicians who rushed to be photographed in a “This Is What A Feminist Looks Like” T-shirt back in 2014. I haven’t seen any evidence that her male colleagues were outraged by gender inequality before it recently became politically convenient for them to be so.

From where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look like the Conservatives have many feminists on their benches. But as the scandal surrounding the Home Secretary grows, it certainly looks like they have a lot of questions to answer.