George Osborne was despicable and wrong to link the case of the killing of the Philpott children to the benefits system. Many others have rightly condemned him for this. He was wrong in what he said – and he was wrong in what he failed to say. If he wanted to comment on the case, he should have highlighted the much more likely reason for the killings – domestic abuse.
During the court case, it became clear that the women in Mick Philpott’s life lived in fear of him. Both his wife, Mairead and girlfriend, Lisa Willis worked (how does that fit with your thesis, George?), but their money went into Philpott’s bank account and he controlled when they could leave the house and where they could go. He had a record of violence to a previous partner and her mother. And the trigger for the terrible violence towards the children appears to have been when Willis decided to leave him and take her children to a refuge. As Women’s Aid make clear, the point at which a woman makes the decision to leave an abusive relationship is often the most dangerous time for them. Incidentally, that’s why housing, support for refuges and legal aid are so crucial for protecting women and tackling domestic violence.
Imagine how powerful it would have been for the chancellor to publicly highlight the issue of domestic violence and to express his – and the government’s support – for tackling it. I was proud as home secretary to develop the first ever cross-government strategy on violence against women. This built on the range of action that women ministers championed during our time in government. But I was also proud that people like Alan Johnson as health secretary and Ed Balls as schools and families minister fully supported the work. And if you want to see how Osborne could have acted, take a look at this great interview by Vernon Coaker when he was a Home Office minister spelling out all the brilliant work that he did to ensure that domestic and sexual violence was an issue for men to tackle too.
On Tuesday, I hope that Theresa May or Maria Miller take the opportunity of the cabinet meeting to point out to Osborne how he’s let down women and their children living in abusive relationships. How can you be tough on crime if you don’t challenge a crime that kills two women every week? But this is also why we shouldn’t have to depend on women ministers to highlight this issue. Labour men were up to the challenge. What a shame leading Tory men aren’t.
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Jacqui Smith is former home secretary, writes the Monday Politics column for Progress, and tweets @smithjj62
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I couldn’t agree with you more. I would also say that men aren’t always the perpetrators in domestic abuse/violence cases many women are especially violent and vicious. But you are right, Osborne was despicable in his connection with Murder and the Welfare state. If anything he’s made the deaths of those children, the abuse in the household, the hostage situation second to his ‘propaganda’. Because that’s all it is. Mere dirty politics. Having Hague agree with his connection infuriated me also. Even Cameron chimed in.
Domestic violence is no laughing matter. The escalation and utter disregard for human life from Philpott is terrifying. No matter if this man was on benefits. Benefits didn’t make him kill. Benefits didn’t turn him into a psychopath. He was already one!
The propaganda machine that is this present government is just unbelievable. It’s as if we’ve stepped back 20+ years! It sickens me.