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The Labour shadow Culture Secretary - wearing this in the HoC?

(548 Posts)
Urmstongran Tue 04-Feb-20 21:44:23

Oh dear.

Tracy Brabin, aged 58y, Labour MP for Batley, ex ‘Corrie’ soap actress wore this yesterday in the HoC.

I was embarrassed on her behalf. What do you think about her choice of outfit for work?

merlotgran Thu 06-Feb-20 13:14:17

Was your wise mother a shadow minister with a broken foot merlotgran?

What a silly question!

CBA to think up a suitable reply.

ananimous Thu 06-Feb-20 12:34:18

She's never going to be taken seriously now.

Turned herself into a sexualized object, setting womens' rights back - another idiot MP.

I have no idea what she was speaking about, have you?
Silly behaviour imo

Summerlove Thu 06-Feb-20 12:25:23

Good point Callistemon; ageism is alive and well on GN.

Isn’t that the truth. All you have to do is look at any thread where somebody has told to stop popping over from mumsnet, and how daughters In law, especially those who just gave birth, “are the worst”.

Urmstongran Thu 06-Feb-20 10:56:53

Totally agree ‘Oopsminty*

Oopsminty Thu 06-Feb-20 10:43:06

Thanks for acknowledging that knowing the context makes a difference, JE)

Why does it make a difference?

People were saying she could wear what she wanted and it was sexist and misogynistic to say otherwise

Now those same posters are saying the fact she had attended another event explains the outfit

So it was either appropriate or inappropriate

Can't have it both ways

Kandinsky Thu 06-Feb-20 10:38:54

I didn’t know that before I posted tbh so apologies for that.
However, it wouldn’t have taken much to throw a cardigan or jacket on.

So my original thoughts still stand.
Totally inappropriate.

jo1book Thu 06-Feb-20 10:38:10

I take a big interest in fashion and that sort of top is a disaster waiting to happen, A wrong move and it becomes rogue; it slips, yawns and is just desperate to get away from your body.
I wouldn't have gone ANYWHERE in that; Concert or Commons.
We live and learn by our mistakes. I don't know whether it was a deliberate publicity stunt; can't believe she will want to be remembered as a semi-naked MP.

MaizieD Thu 06-Feb-20 10:12:42

Ok we now know that the MP in question was at a function prior to her appearance in the H of C, so that does put a different slant on things.

We knew that several pages ago, but did it stop people piling in with the ill informed comments? NO.

No wonder some posters ( me included) get frustrated and a bit ranty.

(Thanks for acknowledging that knowing the context makes a difference, JE)

Callistemon Thu 06-Feb-20 10:10:54

she could not have known when she set off for that event that there would be an incident in the H of C

She knows now to expect the unexpected!
She was obviously never a Girl Guide.

JenniferEccles Thu 06-Feb-20 10:04:21

There is absolutely no need for the unpleasantness and bad language on here , on what was originally a fairly lighthearted thread discussing the appropriateness or otherwise of a female MP’s attire.

Ok we now know that the MP in question was at a function prior to her appearance in the H of C, so that does put a different slant on things.

That’s no excuse though for the likes of suziewoozie to continue her incessant rants.

Callistemon Thu 06-Feb-20 09:58:17

Surely it is against the whole ethos of Gransnet!

Chewbacca Thu 06-Feb-20 09:53:57

Good point Callistemon; ageism is alive and well on GN.

Callistemon Thu 06-Feb-20 09:49:59

Everyone has the right to an opinion
Sparkling Apparently not.
Anyone who expresses an opinion different to some is in danger of being accused of being elderly, old-fashioned, straight-laced, pearl-clutching (a daft expression) etc etc.

I know Gransnet is aimed at older people, although age, not having children or grandchildren should not be a barrier to joining. However, I find the constant disparaging references to the elderly and the assumption that a different attitude must mean someone is extremely old and hasn't experience of life (!) is becoming rather tiresome.
Some of the attitudes of some younger people in RL are more straight laced and strict than those of many older people.

elderly seems to be the latest insult for anyone who doesn't agree with certain others on GN, which is ironic considering the general age of membership.

SirChenjin Thu 06-Feb-20 09:46:44

The woman at the front was talking about the very dangerous and undemocratic things that unelected back room boy Dominic Cummings - well done her, she should be commended for focusing on the important things

Parsley3 Thu 06-Feb-20 09:46:13

I knew of Tracy before as she took over from Jo Cox as it was well publicised at the time. I am surprised that some posters hadn’t heard of her.
An explanation of why she was so attired is given and heyho! These things happen.
I am full of admiration for those who know better though and stick to their guns regardless. Not a grain of doubt that the woman was attention seeking and did it deliberately etc etc.
I attribute the same motive to Johnson wearing a Dennis the Menace hairstyle. It is a talking point and gets him noticed. So if that was Tracy’s game then it worked and she is learning from a master. We know who she is now. Result!

GracesGranMK3 Thu 06-Feb-20 09:41:16

Why is this country so full of bitchy gossips and those who think it is their place in life to be judgemental about situations they know little or nothing about.

That's an honest question. I am sometimes so ashamed of my fellow countrymen and women.

Chestnut Thu 06-Feb-20 09:37:01

Spot on Lemongrove. Some people got very worked up yesterday but I thought the thread would end at midnight when I issued everyone with biscuits and cocoa.
It seems to be rolling on and on! The outrage continues!
Maybe someone else will turn up today in the HoC in strange clothes, and we can do this all over again. ?

Baggs Thu 06-Feb-20 09:36:30

Thanks, maiz.

Thanks also, urmston, for the 'what no jacket in winter, aye right', comment.

I agree Cummings does not dress smartly. But he's a back office guy. I expect he'd be perfectly happy never to be noticed by the media or the public. He's not unsuitably dressed for his work which is behind the scenes, which is obviously quite different from being a person whose work is very public.

And it's a quite different difference from the totally different difference that Chen was talking about re Democrats at SOTUS and whatshername in the HOC. I realise some people won't don't get that. So, shrug. Have a nice day y'all.

Urmstongran Thu 06-Feb-20 09:27:01

Cummings isn’t in the HoC. He is employed by Boris in a private capacity.

Is this ‘whataboutery’??

Nezumi65 Thu 06-Feb-20 09:25:20

*Previous

Nezumi65 Thu 06-Feb-20 09:25:05

Cummings is a professional working at the top of government. How many precious people in his role dressed in anything other than a shirt and tie? If you are going to complain about someone with a broken leg attending the House of Commons at short notice in a black dress then you should be outraged by Cummings as well. His a choice made every morning (or afternoon or evening or whenever he rolls into work)

Blinko Thu 06-Feb-20 09:24:17

Thanks for posting the full story, MaisieD. As so often, it makes all the difference.

Urmstongran Thu 06-Feb-20 09:22:48

Okay.
She arrived in the HoC (her workplace which is also televised for goodness sake).
Don’t tell me she wasn’t wearing a jacket or coat on a cold February day to get from one event to another!
She chose to take it off....
‘Look at me’ much?
She is not back office. She’s front of house.
She knew what she was doing.
Getting noticed (who even knew of her before?)
We know now.
Result!

MaizieD Thu 06-Feb-20 09:17:57

Here, especially for Baggs, is prestbury's post from yesterday afternoon which explains why Brabin was wearing 'that dress' at the despatch box.

I cannot believe the vitriol from a lot of Gransnetters on this subject.

While I agree the dress was inappropriate for the HoC, Tracy Brabin has explained that she was at a music event that afternoon and was summoned to the dispatch box to speak, which she was not expecting to do that day. I would expect no time to get changed

The extensive shoulder slip is probably the way she was stooping and supporting herself at the dispatch box as she currently has a broken ankle and a plaster cast up to her knee

I suggest this is repeated on every page so people who CBA to RTT get a chance to have a little think before piling in to condemn the poor woman.

(Might also add that several people have reiterated this point but the urge to be bitchy clearly overrides the power of logical thought. Several of you should be ashamed of yourselves)

Baggs Thu 06-Feb-20 09:06:03

Cummings isn't an MP. Does he speak in the House of Commons?