Harriet Harman's Dutch Cap

Mad Hatty has revived an idea that she originally devised with Patricia Hewitt. No, nothing to do with their old cause, the Paedophile Information Exchange. Rather, the idea that Labour should have a Leader and two Deputy Leaders, with at least one of those three positions reserved for a woman. Cue jokes about how, on past form, her husband would be eligible for all three of them.

But the whole thing makes me think of the Dutch SGP, which forbids women candidates for office, and whom David Cameron wanted in his meaningless new Group in the European Parliament. For, please note, we are subject to the legislative will of the SGP. So we might as well be subject to whatever is left of the Labour Party once Harman has had her way. It must be 10 years since I was told not to bother trying to become a parliamentary candidate simply because I had the wrong chromosomes. Not just in this constituency. At all. And that was before both other parties started taking the same view.

An old friend of mine who has recently become active in the Labour Party has told me that he sees no point in applying, although he and I both know that he would very good indeed, on exactly the same grounds. So, clearly, nothing changes. If he gets onto the parliamentary panel (his union is unaffiliated, alas), then I might revise my view.