Harman blasts men as Balls bombs

HARRIET HARMAN risked unleashing a new battle of the sexes yesterday.

Harman attacks pay divide Harman attacks pay divide

And the leadership hopes of Ed Balls took a severe knock when his speech to the Labour conference bombed.

The old-style rhetoric of Ms Harman, the party’s deputy leader, was seen as part of a campaign to court grassroots support ahead of a leadership bid for when Gordon Brown quits.

The Minister for Women and Equality hailed plans to make firms with more than 250 staff reveal what they pay male and female employees. Ms Harman, who will wind up the conference today, said the move was “controversial” but added “you can’t tackle pay discrimination if it’s hidden”.

She said Labour had helped working parents and “remained committed” to extending paid maternity leave from nine to 12 months. She also highlighted action to tackle violence against women and sexual exploitation.

But Tory women’s spokesman Theresa May last night attacked Labour’s record. “Harriet Harman says Labour is about equality,” she said. “What she doesn’t say is that, under Labour, inequality has reached a record high.”

Meanwhile, in a bid to ape David Cameron, Schools Secretary Mr Balls spoke without notes. But he mangled key passages and left long pauses.

He was silent on how schools would deal with budget cuts expected after the election despite earlier indications he would sack headteachers and force schools to share senior staff.

Tory schools spokesman Michael Gove said Mr Balls’s speech showed “how bankrupt Labour education policy now is”.

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