And iDave Wants More Women In Politics?

It seems that her recent effort to garner sympathy for her dangerous plight has failed, and people weren't too impressed with her sudden new-found interest in green things either, so Anna 'Bulldozer' Waite has managed to get this astonishingly hagiographic piece written in the 'Echo', in which she blames...well, just about anything but herself:

...Mrs Waite firmly believes all she does is in the public interest, sticking up for the silent majority and doing what is best for the town where she was born and bred.

The silent majority are the voters. I think we'll leave it up to them, eh?

She said: “I only became a councillor because I was so fed up with what was happening.

“I actually care about Southend and when people start to shout at me and tell me I’m doing it wrong it is upsetting.

“I want to speak for the silent majority that so often get forgotten when these pressure groups grow up.”

Which seems to imply that those pressure groups aren't also people who care about Southend and are fed up with what is happening. You can't have meant to imply that, Anna, surely?

And as for finding people telling you that you are wrong 'upsetting', well, perhaps politics isn't for you?

Still, why not bring in a human shield when the going gets tough:

Mrs Waite, 57, who lives in Barling and was born into the famous Southend Tomassi family, has a son and a daughter in their twenties, and elderly parents, and it is them Anna worries about the most when she gets negative press.

She said: “It’s quite distressing for them.”

Oh, dear. Well, you could always stand down. Or do you put your own personal ambitions before your family, like almost ever other politician?

Yeah. Rhetorical question.

Her critics say she doesn’t listen to her opponents’ point of view.

But Mrs Waite, who describes herself as a Southend resident first and Conservative second, insists she will listen to anyone who has something constructive to say and approaches her with respect.

I was always taught respect had to be earned. And as a councillor sucking up public money, you'll do your job regardless of whether your constituents are proposing something 'constructive' or not, you cheeky madam!

Now, how is Anna going to try to sidestep the possibility that perhaps people are 'disrespectful' (in her words) because of her decisions?

Aha!

She says the number and the rudeness of the personal attacks has increased in the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal.

She said: “People think they can be as rude to you as they like at the moment because of the national situation. I’m not saying people should be respectful because I’m a councillor, but they are disrespectful because I’m a councillor.”

Odd. I'm not 'disrespectful' to my councillors over something that has nothing to do with them personally. But perhaps Anna's unique in that respect...

So, hmm, that's not working. What's a girl to do?

*snaps fingers*

Aha! Cloak yourself in the impenetrable shield of 'I'm a laydee, you horrid brutes! Don't be mean to me!'

As the only woman on the cabinet, she does wonder if there is a little latent sexism underlying some of the anger towards her.

She added: “I think there is a bit of that. I don’t think they would have gone for a man in the same way.

“I get comments about my hair or the length of my skirt. Men don’t get comments about their appearance.”

Ed 'Blinky' Balls, Alastair 'Badger Brows' Darling and Gordon 'Cyclops' Brown could not be reached for comment...

“My cabinet colleagues do support me behind the scenes and there’s no problems between us.

“It might be nice if they stuck up for me sometimes, but they all say Anna’s got broad shoulders!”

Oh, fantastic. An appeal to chivalry now: 'Protect me, chaps! I'm just a weak and feeble woman!'

But this tawdry little whine just shows how utterly unsuited to politics some modern women really are. When the going gets tough, they wimp out, and fall back on blatant emotional appeals and whining about 'unfairness'.

What happened to the strong female politicians of the 70s and 80s, who were only too happy to mix it up with their male counterparts and not fall back on claims of discrimination when they failed to get their own way?

When did they morph into the likes of Anna Waite?