Green MP Caroline Lucas has proposed a “controversial” idea. To block a no-deal Brexit, she’s suggested that an “emergency cabinet” of women should run the country. But her ‘plan’ has major issues.
The country is at breaking point & time is running out. I couldn’t forgive myself if we didn’t try everything possible to avert catastrophe of No Deal.
So here’s an idea. I know it’s controversial & many will say it can’t work – but what if it does? https://t.co/v17D4TuQU1
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) August 11, 2019
Green and white
Lucas sent a letter outlining her ideas for her ‘dream’ cabinet to ten female politicians. This included Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, and Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Emily Thornberry. She also included SNP’s Kirsty Blackman, independent Northern Irish MP Sylvia Hermon, Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts, and Conservative Justine Greening. Lucas didn’t stop there, she also invited former Conservative MPs Anna Soubry (now Change UK), and Heidi Allen (once part of Change UK, now independent).
People slammed Lucas’s proposal.
Most significantly, she didn’t include a single Black woman:
Hilarious that, even in this attempt to fuck over Corbyn by invoking the most shallow identity politics, @CarolineLucas has forgotten that black and brown women are MPs too. https://t.co/6fThR0COM4
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) August 11, 2019
Imagine being a "leftwing" MP who includes Yvette Cooper in your fantasy cabinet but not Marsha de Cordova
— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️⚧️ (@LeftieStats) August 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/SkyeCitySeries/status/1160642938612981760
In short, her ideal cabinet is white, middle class, and doesn’t include any left-wing MPs:
Caroline Lucas' fantasy female cabinet reveals far more about the state of politics in the UK than she ever intended.
Rolling together the various strands of exclusion inherent in her proposal (no men, no BAME, no Working Class, no left wingers), we get to the heart of things 1/— Wilbur Mudd (@politicalfubol) August 12, 2019
And here we are years later, with the same social exclusionists, trying to set themselves up as the great white hope to save the country in it's hour of crisis..A crisis created in no small part by their own previous actions.
3/— Wilbur Mudd (@politicalfubol) August 12, 2019
Climate emergency
Given Lucas is a Green Party MP, it’s difficult to understand why she’d even consider negotiating with some of these MPs.
For example, as The Canary reported, Swinson’s website claimed she’s “campaigned tirelessly to save our environment”. But her voting record tells a different story. It shows she supported the badger cull, fracking, HS2, and voted to sell off public forests. Swinson also accepted donations totalling £14,000 from Mark Petterson, director of a company with several fracking licences.
Soubry’s voting record on environmental issues is dire; so too is Allen’s.
In fact, as people pointed out, Jeremy Corbyn and most Labour MPs offer the only consistent and proven chance to counter the critical issues of the current climate breakdown:
https://twitter.com/Sleeper_Service/status/1160639804364742659
A kinder politics?
Later, Lucas seemed to backtrack slightly suggesting that she would back a Corbyn-led government:
And to be clear – if parliamentary maths added up, I’d obviously back a Corbyn-led Govt to oppose No Deal if that were on offer
But other parties have said they won’t back him – that’s why emergency cabinet needed, simply & only to deliver public vote. No policies beyond that
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) August 11, 2019
She also said she’d “love” Diane Abbott on board. But this gesture seemed empty and hollow given she’d ignored all Black MPs in her original letter.
The fact remains, most women she suggested she would work with oppose Corbyn. Swinson refused any alliance and said Corbyn “cannot be trusted”. Cooper, meanwhile, supported a no-confidence vote in Corbyn.
Lucas also claimed these women are party leaders. Except that’s rubbish, because Greening isn’t a leader, and Thornberry and Cooper aren’t either.
Exactly, thank you – the 10 women simply represent the nations of the UK and the leadership of the relevant political parties/groupings. https://t.co/iuDyM4LG2T
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) August 11, 2019
As The Canary reported, Allen’s ‘poverty tour’ of foodbanks shows that she really doesn’t understand the impact of Conservative-led austerity. As education minister, Greening blamed parents for period poverty. Soubry, meanwhile, claimed austerity measures were “necessary”, even after leaving the Conservative Party. And the voting record of half of Lucas’s line up shows they failed to challenge harsh policies:
Imagine calling yourself a leftist and proposing a fantasy Cabinet where, of the 9 Cabinet members:
-> 3 voted for the Coalition's 2010 Queen's Speech
-> 5 either abstained on the 2015 Welfare Bill or voted for it
-> 2 voted for the Iraq War
— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️⚧️ (@LeftieStats) August 11, 2019
These are just ramblings in the middle of the night. Caroline Lucas has shown her hand.
She will get into bed with fossil fuel advocates.
War mongers.
Neoliberals.
Anti Corbyn anti socialist melts.
Anyone who will give her & her frankly useless Green Party a whiff of power…. https://t.co/OxRgtoTBkp— Bevan Boy 💚 (@mac123_m) August 12, 2019
I just don't get it Omar. Ms Lucas rather work with Austerity, welfare cuts & fracking supporters than Mr Corbyn. Unbelievable. All neoliberal MPs who support 130k people killed due to this govt. welfare polices. You couldn't make it up. All integrity gone. pic.twitter.com/eIjAAliw81
— NOT VOTING SERIAL LIAR STARMER (@xpressanny) August 11, 2019
No, no, no
As others pointed out, Lucas’s suggestion splits the left even further:
https://twitter.com/SteMattMurray/status/1160595893629968384
Boris Johnson’s harsh, right-wing government is hurtling the UK towards no-deal Brexit. So we’ve never needed unity from the left to oppose this more than we do now. Yes, trying to stop no-deal is important. But Lucas’s ‘dream team’ isn’t the way. It’s racist, classist, dangerous, and she’s just lost all credibility and respect for suggesting it.
Featured image via Wikimedia – Gpew
