The Hattie Cabinet: Harman 'riding roughshod' over Miliband as she launches women-only frontbench team



Harriet Harman was yesterday accused of 'riding roughshod' over Labour leader Ed Miliband after she launched a new bid to boost the power of women Labour MPs.

Ms Harman, Labour's deputy leader, sparked fury among male party colleagues by announcing that the 11 women in the Shadow Cabinet were holding their own meetings.

They said Ms Harman informed the Labour leader of the plan – already being dubbed 'Harriet's Kitchen Cabinet' – at a full Shadow Cabinet meeting earlier this month.

Girl power: Harriet Harman is said to have undermined Ed Miliband with her plans

One witness told The Mail on Sunday that towards the end of the meeting, Ms Harman mentioned that the women members would be meeting on their own. The source added: 'The blokes on the Shadow Cabinet just looked at each other as if to say, what the hell is all this about?

'Harriet then said that as the Tories were now losing the women's vote, it was important that we made sure our policies appeal to female voters.

'But even Ed looked a bit surprised and joked, “When are the men going to meet then?” and when nobody laughed, he said, “Sorry, not a great joke.”

Favourite: Yvette Cooper (left), the Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow energy and climate secretary Caroline Flint will be part of 'Harriet's Kitchen Cabinet'



'But it really is a load of politically correct, feminist claptrap. She's riding roughshod over Ed.'

When challenged about the meetings, Mr Miliband's office at first said Ms Harman had actually talked about meetings for all female Labour MPs – not just those in the Shadow Cabinet. But later the Labour leader's spokeswoman admitted Ms Harman had announced that women Shadow Cabinet members were about to meet but other female MPs in the party were also invited.

The spokeswoman denied that Ms Harman was dictating to Mr Miliband, saying he had been aware of the all-women gathering and was 'very supportive'.

Denials: Miliband, pictured here sharing a kiss with Caroline Flint, left, and Yvette Cooper, has reportedly denied he was being dictated to by his deputy leader She added that an earlier women-only event had taken place in the summer while the most recent was held in the Shadow Cabinet room at the Commons last week. However, since then, The Mail on Sunday has been told that the Labour leader has rebuked his frontbench team over how details of the all-women meetings leaked out. One source said: 'He told them all off at last week's meeting, saying someone in the room was leaking stuff from what are supposed to be confidential meetings.'

Singing from the same hymn sheet: In fact Miliband's spokeswoman said he was very supportive of the gatherings



So fierce is Ms Harman's zeal for women's rights that the South London MP, 61, has been given the nickname 'Harriet Harperson' and 'patron saint of equality'.

As the party's deputy leader, she backed a controversial policy of all-women shortlists in Labour target seats at the last General Election.

However, she faced taunts after her husband, ex-union baron Jack Dromey, was selected as Labour candidate for a winnable seat in Birmingham and duly won it.

Ms Harman was told by William Hague: 'Your husband has just gone through an all-women shortlist to be selected. You may not want to recognise marriage in the tax system but you sure do in the political system.'

Last night, one senior male Labour MP who is angry at the formation of the new all-women group said he suspected it was partly a 'front-group' for an eventual leadership bid by the Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper.

The MP added: 'Of course we've got to appeal to women voters but it's as though the blokes have never met any women, don't know anything about them and don't want to.'