Equality campaigners denounced the leadership frontrunner’s “cultural war games” and said they feared she would continue her “divisive rhetoric” if elected to No 10. It comes as the Foreign Secretary sparked outrage with an “inflammatory” attack on the Civil Service’s “woke” culture which she claimed had “drifted into anti-Semitism”. Her comments, condemned by a trade union as “political dog whistles”, were the latest skirmish in a culture war that has permeated Ms Truss’ battle with Rishi Sunak to become prime minister. Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, a prominent women’s rights activist, told the Independent: “It feeds their base of politically illiterate bigots. “To be Liz Truss against awakening is to be against me, as I proudly, unapologetically woke up to racial and social injustice and systemic inequality. “The Prime Minister of this country should be the Prime Minister of the woke and the anti-woke, the prime minister of the poor and the rich, the prime minister of men, women and non-binary, but we have the prime minister of one side – anti-woke.” Dr Mos-Shogbamimu, whose 2021 book This Is Why I Resist explored the roots of systemic racism, said it would be positive to have a female prime minister, but better representation of women in politics is not enough. “What does Liz Truss stand for?” asked the writer. “Who does he represent? I don’t see her representing substance or equality for women from different backgrounds. It will continue divisive rhetoric that does not address the ongoing systemic injustice and inequality in our country.” Liz Truss claimed Civil Service was ‘woke’ and ‘anti-Semitic’ (EPA) He added: “He should not just be speaking to the Conservative Party but to the wider electorate. He continues the legacy of Boris Johnson. She is more than herself. “He refuses to publicly admonish Johnson about his poor choices and his incompetence as prime minister. The last 12 years under the Conservative Party have been horrible. This is the party that gave us austerity and Brexit.” Ms Truss, who is also minister for women and equalities, has previously described herself as a “Destiny’s Child feminist”. Dr Mos-Shogbamimu said the foreign minister did not represent her as a black woman and clearly had a “very different idea of what a feminist is and does”. In a controversial speech in December 2020, Ms Truss announced plans to steer UK equality policy away from “modern” issues of race, sexuality and gender and mocked “virtue-marking”, “feminism of the pink bus” and the so-called “complaint”. . The South West Norfolk MP also criticized what she claimed was the dominance of “identity politics, powerful lobby groups and the idea of lived experience”, as she called for a move away from quotas, targets, unconscious bias and diversity statements. which he dismissed as “tools of the left”. Mandu Reid, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, told the Independent: “Trush has shown how much she likes to play cultural war games while the economic situation for women gets more dire every day. “If she was brave enough to call a general election, she would soon find out what women think of this pointless politics.” Mr Sunak has also been accused of promoting culture war rhetoric in a desperate bid to revive his leadership campaign. The former chancellor last month pledged to overhaul the Equality Act to stop the “woke nonsense” it has allowed to “pervade public life”. Despite previously insisting he has “zero interest in fighting a so-called culture war”, the MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire vowed to tackle “left-wing troublemakers” and “end brainwashing, vandalism and finger-pointing”. Rishi Sunak attacked ‘Left agitators’ (Getty Images) Dr Hannah Barham-Brown, vice-chair of the Women’s Equality Party, said she was pessimistic about the prospects of either candidate as prime minister. “What little track record they each have on women’s rights is poor to say the least. Sunak abstained from all important votes to advance abortion rights, Truss abstained from almost all of them,” he added. “Both avoid questions about what should happen when MPs are accused of harassment or abuse, when the mishandling of that is what triggered a leadership election in the first place. Just last month Truss came under pressure when the Foreign Office disgracefully removed reproductive rights commitments from an official statement on gender equality.’ Ms Truss, who some have suggested was modeled after Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, would be the UK’s third female prime minister if she defeats Mr Sunak. Claire Reindorp, chief executive of the Young Women’s Trust, which helps low-paid women, told the Independent she wanted to see “a commitment from our future prime minister to recognize and tackle the stark economic inequality young women face”. “On average a young woman earns 22 percent less than a young man and this sets her up for a lifetime of inequality,” she added. “Liz Truss spoke about fairness, tackling discrimination in the workplace and flexible working. Now we need to see these words turned into concrete plans to deliver legal rights to flexible working, affordable and flexible childcare and stronger protections against discrimination.” Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said tackling violence against women and girls must also be a key priority for the next prime minister. “This means investing in long-term, specialist prevention work, including ongoing public campaigns aimed at changing the behaviors that drive and support harmful behaviours, and delivering holistic prevention work in schools and educational settings,” he added. “Currently, we know that the government has invested less than 10 per cent of the budget it has estimated is necessary to deliver new relationships and sex curriculum. That’s just not good enough. “We urgently need the government to make adequate investment to reverse the decimation of specialist frontline services for victims and survivors of male violence, with a particular focus on specialist services leading and for black and disadvantaged women, the sharp end of funding cuts” . The Independent contacted Ms Truss’ team for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
