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Why won’t Keir Mather apologise to Germaine Greer?

Labour leader Keir Starmer with his newest and youngest MP Keir Mather (Credit: Getty images)

Labour’s newest and youngest MP, Keir Mather, is fresh out of Oxford – and on a path to the very top of his party. But the 25-year-old, who overturned a 20,000-vote Tory majority to win the Selby and Ainsty by-election last month, shares more than his first name with his party leader and boss, Keir Starmer.

Starmer has spent some time getting himself into a muddle on a simple question: what is a woman? Now, it seems, ‘baby’ of the house of Commons Mather is determined to follow in Starmer’s footsteps. In an interview with the Times, Mather was cagey on that question – and his response to whether he really did call Germaine Greer ‘an abhorrent transphobe’ was also hardly reassuring:

‘It’s half a decade ago now. The debate was extremely hot; I can’t remember the context.’

Mr S thought it might be helpful to offer Mather a reminder of events. Then-undergraduate student Mather lashed out at Greer after the academic was invited to the Oxford Union in 2018.

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Steerpike
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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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