It feels like there’s more at stake than ever at this year’s coming General Election – so with that in mind, Grazia enlisted some of its favourite women to ask them the questions that matter. You can read the full list of answers in a bumper piece in this week’s magazine, on sale from Tuesday, 10 December.
As part of the piece, Grazia columnist Polly Vernon asked the leaders of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, ‘How vain are you?’ to which, Jo Swinson replied, ‘Not as vain as Boris Johnson!’ Boris Johnson characteristically opted for… ‘Omnia vanitas’. While Jeremy Corbyn said, ‘Vanity is a dangerous thing, but I do have one tracksuit I particularly like to wear when riding my favourite bike.’
But if that’s not helped you make you mind up, women including Dame Helena Morrissey, Bryony Gordon, Derry Girls’ Nicola Coughlan, campaigner Paris Lees and author Candice Carty-Williams also grilled the leaders.
Stacey Dooley tellingly asked the leaders what their biggest regret was. While Jo Swinson revealed something from her personal life, saying: ‘I lost my dad last year, when I was seven months pregnant. I’ll always regret that he was never able to meet little Gabriel,’ Corbyn and Johnson opted for the political.
‘That over three years on from the referendum, Parliament has still not enabled us to leave the EU,’ said Boris Johnson. Corbyn countered: ‘I regret not winning the 2017 election. So many people suffered as a result of the Tory Government that followed. We won so many people over in that campaign, in the last couple weeks in particular the response from the public to our ideas and message was fantastic, so I regret we didn’t have another week or two to have the chance to form a Labour Government.’
We also asked the leaders if they’d back Grazia’s campaign to end the rough sex defence. Grazia’s petition, with Harriet Harman and We Can’t Consent To This, calls on the government and MPs to bring the Domestic Abuse Bill back to parliament after the election, and vote to support amendments to put an end to the defence, where men claim that women consented to the violence that killed them.
‘Yes, absolutely – like many others I was frustrated that this Bill couldn’t progress because of the gridlock in Parliament,’ said Boris Johnson. ‘If we are elected with a majority, we’ll bring this Bill back as soon as possible. I agree with Harriet Harman that the ‘50 shades defence’ is unacceptable and we’ll make sure the law is clear on this. We must go further than legislation though, which is why I will double our funding for refuges and victim support services, pilot new domestic abuse courts to speed up cases, and pass a Victim’s Law so that every victim in the country can get the support they are entitled to. We know that the court process can deepen the emotional trauma of those who have suffered abuse so we’ll improve the system and make it easier for victims to come forward.’
Jeremy Corbyn told us: ‘We will absolutely reintroduce a Domestic Abuse Bill, something the Conservatives failed to do in the last Parliament. I am proud this commitment is in our manifesto, alongside our plans for a National Refuge Fund to ensure financial stability for rape crisis centres, so that no one is turned away. We will make sure that the ‘50 Shades’ defence is banned, including it directly in our bill. And we’ll also set new standards for tackling domestic and sexual abuse and violence, appointing a Commissioner for Violence against Women and Girls.’
And Jo Swinson said: ‘It’s a travesty that the Conservatives, in two years, have got nowhere with the Domestic Abuse Bill. Talk about dither and delay. I would bring the bill back as soon as Parliament returns, and strengthen it, by supporting a full-time, fully-funded Domestic Abuse Commissioner. Liberal Democrats want to change our justice system so it works for victims of violent and sexual crime. We’ve worked with Harriet Harman and Vera Baird, the Victims’ Commissioner, to stop the inappropriate use of prior sexual history in rape cases. Being on a certain app, agreeing to sex under certain circumstances or with certain boundaries, or once having told your friend about a sexual fantasy, does not equal consent. And it’s our responsibility to make that clear in sex and relationships education as well.’
To sign Grazia’s petition, click here
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