Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, has asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer to support women who say they have experienced sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour and called for perpetrators to be dealt with.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, December 4, Ms Hume noted that “a significant number of Members in this place are, regardless of class, women of a certain age”.
She referenced comments made by MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace who suggested that allegations against him came from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
Mr Wallace, who has since apologised for the comments, stepped aside from presenting MasterChef after a BBC News investigation revealed allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour against him.
His lawyers have strongly denied he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
Keir Starmer MP replied: “I certainly agree with that, and I think everybody across the House would.
“She’s right, because, one of the greatest barriers that women face when coming forward and reporting unacceptable behaviour in the workplace is having confidence that they will be taken seriously. And that requires all of us to put in place mechanisms and arrangements to make that possible.”
Ms Hume, the first woman to represent Scarborough and Whitby in Parliament, also addressed the ongoing Employment Rights Bill legislation during a debate on Tuesday, December 3.
She told the House of Commons that the bill “will increase protection from sexual harassment, being one of those middle-class women of a certain age – the Government’s commitment to holding workplace offenders to account cannot come soon enough”
She added: “Last week, we heard that there is strong evidence that the majority of sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly in retail and hospitality, comes from third parties—a client, customer or patient […] It is essential that employers can take reasonable steps to prevent harassment by third parties because the net effect on the victim is the same whether that behaviour comes from a direct co-employee or a third party.”
Responding to the Scarborough and Whitby MP’s question at PMQs, Mr Starmer added: “Everybody should be treated with dignity and respect, and I’m proud of the fact that the Employment Rights Bill that we’re passing will strengthen protections from sexual harassment at work.”
