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Harriet Harman’s ‘lap dance’ swipe at George Osborne
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor30 Sep 2009
Harriet Harman today stunned Tories by linking shadow chancellor George Osborne to lap-dancing clubs, declaring that a Conservative government would install them in “every community”.
The deputy Labour leader's attack came as she launched a wide-ranging broadside on the Tories' record on sex equality and feminism. In an apparent attempt to play the “class card”, she also accused David Cameron of wanting to extend foxhunting across the country.
But it was her words on Tory sexism which risked a fresh row, accusing Mr Osborne of wanting to replace Labour's SureStart centres with “a lap-dancing club in every community”.
Insiders insisted that her words were not an attempt to smear the shadow chancellor with any link to table-dancing clubs and were a “jokey” reference to the fact that free tickets to a lap-dancing club were distributed at last year's Tory conference in Birmingham.
Her attack came as she also urged California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to close down a US website that allows men to "grade" prostitutes in London.
Labour's Deputy Leader said Punternet, which allows men to comment on individual prostitutes, was "truly degrading".
Police have advised her that it is a disturbing development as it allows "punters" to rank call girls in a range of ways and makes it easier to find a prostitute.
But the California-based site is beyond the UK's legal jurisdiction and so Ms Harman is asking ex-actor Mr Schwarzenegger to take action to "terminate" the site.
Ms Harman, who is also equalities minister, said she wanted to curb the expected rise in demand for pimps and prostitutes in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. She added: "We're determined to ensure criminal gangs don't abduct women and sell them for sex.
"Punternet fuels the demand for prostitutes. It has pages and pages of women for sale in London. It is truly degrading and puts women at risk.
"I've called on California's governor Arnie Schwarzenegger to close it down. Surely it can't be too difficult for the Terminator to terminate Punternet."
Reader views (20)
Harman, now you are suddenly so concerned about the trafficking of women ?
Where have you been for last 10 years, when trafficking came from Eastern Europe? No doubt more interested in your career. Punternet has been around a long time; look up any documentary covering this area. You can’t even get the name of the UKs only female prime minster in list of historical achievements of women’s list. Why don’t you spend you energies on helping women in domestic violence, forced marriages, and abuses of Sharia law( look up last Sunday observer article on this)
- Rob, london, 12/10/2009 11:54
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Kate - since when does wanting to stop a predicted increase in prostitution and trafficking make you a 'decrepit man-hater from the '70s?' You think selling your fellow women for sex is acceptable, do you? Well I don't, and I think it is brave of Ms Harman to raise these issues. She is only doing her job, after all - presumably you'd rather she kept her mouth shut and did nothing to raise awareness of how women are maltreated in our society? Or perhaps you just don't care. Maybe you should get some social awareness. It could be your daughter or your sister involved in this, how would you feel then?
- Lindsay, London, 06/10/2009 17:15
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Why does she not try to shut down the thousands of other sites that offer such servcies, "selling" both male and female services, that have been around for years?
Answer: this gives her chance to associate herself with Arnie.
Doubtless she left her message with one of Arnie's flunkies.
Doubtless he will not be "rushing" to answer her!
Thankfully this miserable excuse for a political party, and this woman, will be out of power for a generation come next May.
Harperson will then have to look for a real job.
- Ken Frost, London UK, 01/10/2009 11:26
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Everytime this wretched woman opens her mouth she brings down more mockery on the heads of her dead party. Let us hear more before they get the boot. I hope she loses her seat too.
- Michael, London, UK, 30/09/2009 19:54
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"...Surely it can't be too difficult for the Terminator to terminate Punternet."
...That's the whole point of hosting this website in the U.S. - so decrepit man-haters from the 70's like Harriet Harmon can't do anything about it. This website, and others like it, will be around long after Harriet Harmon is forgotten.
- Kate, London, 30/09/2009 18:39
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If Harperson wanted to sell her body to indulge in whatever sexual pleasures another man wanted to buy then what has it got to do with anyone else?
I can accept that in many cases prostitution feeds a drug habit and that some prostitutes are supplied by people trafficers.
However, are these the reasons Harperson objects?
Or is it because in HER OPINION it isn't acceptable? Heaven save us from her or any other politician's opinions!!!!!!!
- David, High Wycombe UK, 30/09/2009 18:30
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You see that barrel over there? That's Harridan Harperson scraping the bottom of it.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one, 30/09/2009 17:23
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Good on Harriet, she just saying what most independent women think.. The Tories will take equality back to the dark ages..
- Katie, London, 30/09/2009 17:22
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Mark from London, you clearly have little understanding of forced prostitution if you think they have the option of giving a 'bad' service. Beatings, lack of food and much worse. I wonder what kind of service you would give if your life depended on it.
You also have little understanding of the many reasons people use prostitutes and its not all nice men in suits looking for a lovely lady to have an nice time. There are much darker sides to the industry.
- Karen, Scotland, somewhere, 30/09/2009 17:00
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Message to Harman - I'm sure you are comfortable with your black and white view of the world and its issues. The trouble is that the world and its issues are composed mostly of varying degrees of grey. Start understanding that and you'll start understanding real people.
Hint to her lock-step supporters, wherever they might be - the only people said to have been absolutely right in everything - perfect, in other words - had world religions based upon their teachings. I don't think she measures up, personally.
- Rogan, Irving, 30/09/2009 16:01
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Without a doubt Hardperson believes these working women offer a service, if so what is wrong with advertising it?
Either its legal or illegal, if what they are doing is illegal then arrest them Hardperson
Stop looking for zany headlines
- Gary, Brentwood, 30/09/2009 15:50
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And on behalf of PunterNet, may we sincerely thank our tireless PR person, the Right Hon Har Har MP, for the excellent free publicity.
What an idiot!
- Haskey, London SE1, 30/09/2009 15:34
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Perhaps an American reader can confirm, isn't freedom of speech guaranteed by the USA's constitution? In which case Harperson is demonstrating either total ignorance of, or total contempt for, the USA. Mind you, that's about what I'd expect from a minister of a government that has trampled all over the traditional freedoms which used to be regarded as our own unwritten constitution.
- Nigel, London, 30/09/2009 15:01
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The two-faced hypocrisy of Harriet Harman is truly shameless. The reason we have any lap-dancing clubs at all is due to the government she is part of.
This is the same government which introduced 24 hour drinking too, and would have put super-casinos is some of the most deprived areas in Britain.
Unbelievable!
- Sarahn, London, UK, 30/09/2009 14:57
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Back off the working girls harriet. Punterlink gives men and the girls value for money, and encourages good service standards 
Surely thats a good thing in this service obsessed time! Find a different hobby horse - most of the country don't agree with you, on anything, and look forward to the time you get your P45.
- Michael, london, 30/09/2009 13:40
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If these women are really trafficked then I'd assume they would not be wholly enthused about providing the required services. This should in turn lead to bad reviews and less custom. The market would therefore remove the financial incentive to traffic women. Not a point I'd expect an unreformed Marxist to get.
- Mark, London, 30/09/2009 13:35
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This country is bankrupt, our soldiers are losing their lives fighting in Afghanistan, we have the most corrupt government in the western world, our MPs have been guilty of misappropriation of millions of pounds of tax payers' money to build their property portfolios - and this idiot's main concerns are lap dancers and prostitutes. You couldn't make it up!
- R.F.York, Yorks, UK, 30/09/2009 13:31
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Oldest profession in the world...
- Dannyp, Egham, 30/09/2009 13:25
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Not only does Harperson show a wilful ignorance of American law but also of how the internet works, even if the site is shut down the owners can simply move it to another server outside of the US where there is no jurisdiction. Still, she must be good at something I guess.
- Bob, Cheam, 30/09/2009 12:39
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For a lawyer, Harperson's willful ignorance and disregard for the law is startling. If this site breaks US law in some way, which I doubt, then the correct people to complain to are the US legal authorities, not the governor. Or maybe she does understand that and is just looking for some cheap publicity for one of her pet causes?
- Derek, London, 30/09/2009 11:01
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