Interview with Bridget Phillipson, MP Houghton & Sunderland South (click here for weblink)
BESIDES
religion, politics has probably been the mechanism for more murder, mayhem and civil
unrest than any other following known to man.
But
even with such self-confessed cynicism, I still jumped at the chance to
interview Bridget Phillipson, the new MP for Houghton and Sunderland
South, when she offered.
And
besides, she's part of a new generation no longer bound by the stern image
of stuffy men, party spin and outlandish expenses sheets for duck ponds or
tennis courts.
Born
and raised by a single mum in a council house, she's the beneficiary of a
first-class education (Hertford College, Oxford), who returned to her roots to
run a charity refuge for women and children affected by domestic violence.
Her
influences are inspired by strong female characters, particularly her mother
and Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s pro-democracy leader.
And
at 26 her career is by no means a fad; a party member since 15, she is one of
the youngest parliamentarians and the first female MP in Sunderland for 80
years.
So
what does it feel like to be young and female in Parliament, considering many
of her constituents must be two or three generations older than her?
“What’s
most important is that I’m a local candidate and being aware of local
problems,” she says. “I hope I can reach out to people across the age range.”
And
it was whilst on the campaign trail that she spearheaded her youthful vigour to
convince voters that fresh blood needed to be pumped back into the town’s
anaemic body.
“New
MPs are bucking the trend, there are more young candidates and people from
ethnic minorities.”
She
tells me Labour is also working towards 50 percent of its members being female
through their All Women Shortlists (AWS) – “A brave but unpopular solution to
the lack of female representation in Parliament,” she says; and she should know
– she was elected from an AWS.
It’s
clear she sees AWS’s as pivotal to ensuring MPs are representative of the wider
community.
It’s
not that Bridget is a feminist; I sense she doesn’t see herself as young or
female, rather someone who is ready to do the best for the people she
represents - “I don’t think it’s particularly important as long as I can do the
job.”
 |
| Bridget fighting for Sunderland in Parliment |
So,
it’s not age or sex which bothers her or the 19,000 voters who swept her to
power. What’s more concerning, and you could probably fill Old Trafford with
MPs who agree, is the fear of misrepresentation, particularly when careers can
be made or mauled by the slip of a tongue.
An
early lesson occurred before her election when she joined would-be candidates
for a Grazia interview.
Surely
the glossy fashion magazine offering beauty tips and celebrity gossip is not a
normal publication for cold hard politics?
And
Telegraph columnist Liz Hunt thought the same, calling the 16 interviewees ‘a
bunch of misfits... blow-dried to the nth degree, bundled into high street
fashion’.
Indeed.
Hunt quotes Bridget as saying, “While women are judged in ways that men are
not, it should be about what you can achieve, not about being glam or
pretty," then condemning her for ‘posing prettily in a tight black dress
with plunging neckline.’
“It
was arranged to show young women who read Grazia that politics can be for them,
that they can make a difference. As a politician people will have an opinion,
you accept that.” She says, casting her dark brooding eyes over my copy of the
article.
Perhaps
it’s all just too much in this age of information and news saturation. Sites
like Facebook, although a fine communication tool must be fraught with danger
for the younger generation of politicos.
I
ask if she worries people will put pictures of her on these sites stumbling out
of nightclubs vomiting on the streets?
She
nodded and smiled nervously.
“You’re
never off duty, which is a strange adjustment to make, I use networking sites
to raise the profile of what I’m doing, a lot of my constituents write to me
using these sites.”
Which
is fine, and in her short time in Parliament she’s already pulled off
impressive results including securing confirmation that a £20m grant, given to
Nissan by the previous Government to produce electric cars, would be honoured,
creating thousands of jobs.
And
in a recent Parliamentary debate she urged Tory Business Minister Ed Vaizey and
his Government to invest in Sunderland’s software industry if the UK is to be
‘at the heart’ of the world’s future markets.
To
be an MP you have to be a skilled orator, an excellent communicator dodging
questions with the skill and dexterity of a limbo dancer. And Bridget has that
ability.
But
she also speaks with a passion which is not to be confused with the conformity
of her party’s political agenda. On being elected she called it a ‘humbling
experience.’
When
you hear politicians on TV it’s easy to dismiss them as cynical but it’s harder
to do so when you meet one that seems genuine.
Her
efforts are an antidote to anyone growing up believing the only way to succeed
is to marry a footballer or become a celebrity.
Her
story is one of hard work and dedication who wasn’t born to privilege or
wealth.
Whether
it’s her youth or desire to empower women, or neither, there’s no denying her
dedication to blow away ‘New Labour’ cobwebs and actually get to the heart of
issues which concern her constituents.
Most
of those issues are also important to us all. And bearing in mind the country’s
woeful economic state, Bridget, along with the 350 rookie parliamentarians,
know the hopes of our nation rests firmly on their shoulders. And for how they
get on, only time will tell.
