There have been calls immediately for Liz Truss to be stripped of her position as the federal government’s minister for ladies and equalities, after it emerged that she introduced just one official engagement associated to the put up within the month of December.
Ms Truss – seen as a possible successor to Boris Johnson as Tory chief – held onto the equalities place when she was promoted to international secretary in September’s reshuffle, and the prime minister has since added duty for the Brexit negotiations to her workload after the resignation of David Frost earlier this month.
Liberal Democrats warned that points important to girls and equal alternatives danger being “sidelined” because of this and referred to as on Mr Johnson handy the job to another person.
However the Authorities Equalities Workplace rejected the declare, arguing that the get together’s evaluation associated solely to engagements made public on the federal government’s web site, which didn’t replicate the complete vary of labor carried out by ministers.
In response to the Lib Dems, a complete of 11 engagements by Ms Truss as international secretary have been introduced throughout the month of December, together with internet hosting a summit of G7 ministers in Liverpool, visiting Sweden and Spain and signing a joint declaration with Latvia simply days after being pictured using a tank within the Baltic state.
In the meantime, she held her first cellphone talks with European Fee vice-president Maroš Šefčovič within the long-running saga of the Northern Eire Protocol, which had concerned Lord Frost in 4 negotiation periods earlier within the month earlier than his resignation.
However over the course of the month, only one equalities-related exercise was publicly listed – an announcement on the extension of a public session on laws to ban conversion remedy.
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Lib Dem spokesperson for ladies and equalities Wera Hobhouse mentioned that the ministerial position had been “uncared for” by Conservative leaders for the reason that days of the coalition, when Lib Dem minister Lynne Featherstone pushed by way of laws for equal marriage and to advertise gender range within the office.
“With inequalities rife throughout the nation and a lot work needing to be carried out to guard girls and ladies, now isn’t the time for a part-time minister,” mentioned Ms Hobhouse.
“We’d like a minister for ladies and equalities with the time, vitality and dedication to result in actual change. However Truss is treating this job as an afterthought, preferring to deal with jetting world wide to pose for pictures to fill her social media feed.
“We must be specializing in decreasing inequality, significantly the hole between the richest and poorest, and guaranteeing we genuinely ‘stage up’ our nation. As an alternative, Boris Johnson has additional marginalised this essential portfolio and proven this isn’t a Conservative precedence. “Liberal Democrats consider that the British individuals deserve a society the place each particular person’s rights and liberties are protected. That is clearly not a precedence for Liz Truss, so she ought to stand down and permit another person to do the job.”
A authorities Equality Hub spokesperson rejected the declare as “fully unfaithful”.
“Supported by a crew of 4 equality ministers, the minister for ladies and equalities is taking steps to interrupt down the limitations dealing with individuals throughout this nation as we construct again higher,” mentioned the spokesperson.
“Over the previous yr, the federal government has put ahead proposals to ban LGBT conversion remedy, set out motion to sort out sexual harassment within the office and launched a number of measures to assist disabled individuals by way of the Nationwide Incapacity Technique.”
Since 2010, the job of minister for ladies and equalities has been held by a secretary of state with a separate cabinet-level position, together with Theresa Might and Amber Rudd once they have been residence secretary, Nicky Morgan and Justine Greening as schooling secretary, Penny Mordaunt as defence secretary and Maria Miller as tradition secretary.
