Reform activists in Hertfordshire recently appeared to have set up what looks like a terrible entry to a non-existent scarecrow competition in the name of electoral politics.
The roadside setup in Hertsmere, Hertfordshire, shows deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, chancellor Rachel Reeves and education secretary Bridget Phillipson depicted as cows waiting to be slaughtered.
Charming.
“Cow” is of course a de-humanising insult commonly applied by misogynists to women. It has in fact been used as an “insulting or degrading word for a women” since the ideology of some of Reform’s worst was last updated; in the 1690s.
A Labour spokesperson says:
This is a dehumanising and misogynistic portrayal of hardworking female cabinet members who are delivering change for our country on behalf of the British people.
The Lib Dems agree, raising also the issue of the rather dark “abattoir” theming in an era where MPs already feel it necessary to take extra safety measures to protect themselves from violent attacks. Their spokesperson claims that:
This is horrifically misogynistic and, after seeing politicians murdered in recent years, inferring that some should also be sent to an abattoir cannot be dressed up as anything other than an attack on democracy.
Nigel Farage of course doesn’t care either way. He’s “very proud” of his candidates even if, to be fair, he seems to agree that “It probably isn’t very funny.”