Ruth Davidson is right — something has to give to be a mum as she rules herself out of PM race
The Scottish Tory leader — pregnant with her first child — has ruled herself out of being PM, while Zoe Ball is said to be in turmoil over being offered the Radio 2 breakfast show with 4am starts meaning nights away from her kids
SCOTTISH Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has ruled herself out as a future PM.
“No. I value my relationship and my mental health too much for it,” says the 39-year-old who is pregnant with her first child.
She adds: “On a human level, the idea that I would have a child in Edinburgh and then immediately go down to London four days a week and leave it up here is actually offensive to me.”
Meanwhile, friends of Zoe Ball say she is in turmoil after being offered the coveted Radio 2 breakfast show — because it would mean a 4am wake-up call and overnight stays in London away from her two children with whom she shares an idyllic cottage in the Sussex countryside.
Both these examples highlight why successive governments have failed to come up with any viable solutions to the daily problems faced by working mothers.
It’s why equal pay falls off a cliff when women reach 29 — because, on average, that’s when we take time out to start a family.
And why, once those children start school, there’s a vastly underused army of intelligent, motivated women who struggle to re-enter the workplace where they left off.
When I became pregnant with my second daughter, I was co- presenting the LBC breakfast show — a job I loved.
Friends of Zoe Ball say she is in turmoil after being offered the coveted Radio 2 breakfast show — because it would mean a 4am wake-up call and overnight stays in London away from her two children
Post-birth, despite my understanding employers offering me a later slot instead, I resigned because I didn’t feel I could cope with a newborn baby and give a daily radio show the commitment it rightly needed.
Zoe’s kids are older and are probably saying, “Go for it, Mum.”
But then there’s the motherly guilt, a natural emotion exacerbated by the expectations of a society that historically has always placed the greater burden of childcare on women.
Shortly after our youngest was born, The Bloke was offered a lucrative ten weeks’ work in Australia but didn’t take it because he knew he’d miss his family too much.
If he had, doubtless no one outside of our immediate family would have batted an eyelid.
“I take my time with my children very seriously — my children will both be at school when I am training — it’s the reason I agreed to do Strictly,” she countered.
Would a male contestant with children be asked the same question? Highly doubtful.
But to be honest, even if no one ever questioned our motherly skills, we’d still do it ourselves because, with hormones and maternal instinct raging, we feel a visceral need to be there for our children if they need us.
Ruth Davidson, left, has bravely admitted that she self-harmed as a teenager, and knows that her mental well-being is best controlled when, as well as exercising and avoiding alcohol, she has a manageable structure to her life that makes her feel in control and, therefore, content.
Clearly, she has come to the decision that if she wants to be an involved parent, then something has to give — and in her case it’s the possibility of taking on even more work.
“Having it all” is about deciding what your “all” is.
And knowing that whatever it is — be it staying at home, working a little or working a lot — you won’t be judged for it.
Ruth knows that her “all” lies in putting her family first and keeping her work life manageable — which means ruling out any possibility of going for the all-consuming PM job.
Shame. Because her matter- of-fact honesty has only bolstered the feeling that she’d have made a damn fine one.
I hope recruits get on-the-job training
BBC1 drama Bodyguard continues to pull in impressive ratings and headlines.
Personally, I think BBC2’s Trust, about the kidnap of John Paul Getty lll, is far superior. But I digress.
Thanks to the success of the series that follows the work of a personal protection officer to the Home Secretary, counter-terrorism police are hoping to attract new recruits via a social media campaign during the show.
A spokesman said: “If we’re capturing the imagination of people who might not have previously considered a career in policing, that’s a great step forward.”
Provided, of course, they don’t assume that part of the job remit involves steamy sex sessions with the person they’re supposed to be protecting.
WITH millions watching the Emmys ceremony worldwide, director Glenn Weiss used his award-wining limelight to get down on one knee and propose to girlfriend Jan Svendsen.
Cripes. No pressure, love.
ONE SMALL STEP FOR WOMANKIND?
JO SWINSON made parliamentary history last week by turning up to a Commons debate with her baby son strapped to her front.
One small step for womankind, perhaps?
Though obviously, if you work pretty much anywhere else, “bring your child to work” is restricted to just one day a year. But that aside, what’s the betting that young Gabriel’s gurgles made more sense than much of what we’ve heard from that chamber in the past few years?
Rhian’s gone mud
GLAMOUR model Rhian Sugden covers herself in Turkish mud off the coast of Kalkan: an exfoliating ritual among tourists.
Let’s hope her outcome was better than mine when, a few years ago, I did the same during a girls’ holiday and picked up a water-borne virus that prompted my own, self-generated mud bath later that day.
I spent the rest of the trip in bed, lost a stone and a half, and eventually boarded the flight home wearing a giant Pamper.
NOT SUCH GOOD SPORTS
AS the schools start back, there are reports of a sharp decline in sports days because some headteachers balk at children being separated into winners and losers.
Sigh. If a child is good at maths, no one suggests they hide their expertise to make their classmates feel better, so why expect “winners” in sport not to have their moment of glory too? Some you win, some you lose.
And trying to shield kids from that reality does them no favours.
Sofa so good for Fi
Angry customers are venting their frustration on social media, but perhaps they should take a leaf out of market trader Fiona Boston’s book.
After forking out £1,500 for a new sofa, she was understandably horrified when told she couldn’t have it.
When the store manager declared it was theft and called the police, 53-year-old Fiona, above, stood her ground.
“I’m not going anywhere, this is my suite, I’ve paid for it and I’ve got the receipt here in my hand, it’s mine and they are the crooks, not me,” she told the officers.
The result? The suite now has pride of place in her living room.
If she ever thinks about going into politics, I’d vote for her.
AMAZON has scrapped plans to use robot-controlled cages for transporting workers safely across its warehouses after the idea was criticised as “dystopian.”
Why all the fuss?
After all, we all get into metal cages or boxes to be transported safely up and down between floors at our workplace, so why not across?
Or are we now viewing lifts as the work of the devil too?