Penny Mordaunt reveals how being offered as a prize at a Tory party conference fundraiser left her feeling ‘cheap, humiliated, hurt’
- Ms Mordaunt, 46, was just 23 years old when she was hurt by the sexist jibe
- She told the One Nation Day conference in London of her first conference ordeal
- ‘One man said to another at the fundraiser that if he gave the party a particular donation he could take Penny home that night and do what he liked with me’
By Isabella Nikolic For Mailonline
Published: 05:36 EDT, 8 September 2019 | Updated: 15:27 EDT, 8 September 2019
Former Conservative Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt has opened up about the shame of being offered as a prize at a Tory party fundraiser.
Ms Mordaunt, 46, was just 23 years old when she was left feeling ‘cheap, humiliated and hurt’ by the sexist jibe.
Holding back tears, she told the One Nation Day conference in London yesterday of the ordeal she suffered at her first party conference in Bournemouth.
Penny Mordaunt, 46, was just 23 years old when she was left feeling ‘cheap, humiliated and hurt’ by a sexist jibe when she was offered as a prize at her first Conservative party conference
Holding back tears, she told the One Nation Day conference in London yesterday of the ordeal she suffered
‘One man said to another at the fundraiser that if he gave the party a particular donation he could take Penny home that night and do what he liked with me.
‘It was awful,’ she said according to the Sun.
She added: ‘I was so hurt. I remember looking down at my cheap shoes and feeling cheap, humiliated and hurt.’
She went on to detail how she was left feeling defeated because she had worked so hard to be a part of the Conservative party only to be let down.
Comparing how she felt 23 years ago to how some may feel about the current state of UK politics now, Ms Mordaunt called for unity to overcome Brexit tensions.
Holding back tears, she told the One Nation Day conference in London of the ordeal she suffered at her first party conference in Bournemouth. Pictured are Conservative party members Phillip Hammond and Boris Johnson and ex-Conservative MP Amber Rudd
She said: ‘One man said to another at the fundraiser that if he gave the party a particular donation he could take Penny home that night and do what he liked with me’. Pictured is Ms Mordaunt with Jeremy Hunt
She said: ‘If you are a caustic of this week, or crestfallen at the treatment of colleagues, or feeling broken about the battles ahead, then I urge you to do what I decided at that event 23 years ago – to stay, to stand together and to fight.’
Ms Mordaunt’s comments came the day before Boris Johnson opened up a 14 point poll lead over the Labour Party as it was claimed he will ‘sabotage’ a Brexit delay if he is unable to secure a deal with the EU before the October 31 deadline.
The Conservative Party is polling at 35 per cent in a new YouGov survey with Labour far behind on 21 per cent, the Lib Dems on 19 per cent and the Brexit Party on 12 per cent.
Ms Mordaunt’s comments came the day before Boris Johnson opened up a 14 point poll lead over the Labour Party as it was claimed he will ‘sabotage’ a Brexit delay if he is unable to secure a deal with the EU before the October 31 deadline
The Conservative Party is polling at 35 per cent in a new YouGov survey with Labour far behind on 21 per cent, the Lib Dems on 19 per cent and the Brexit Party on 12 per cent
The poll suggests that Mr Johnson’s hardline pledge to take Britain out of the bloc by Halloween with or without a deal is resonating with Leave voters and illustrates why Downing Street is so keen on an early general election.
But while Mr Johnson may be surging in the polls, his Brexit strategy continues to cause chaos in Westminster amid claims he will ignore an anti-No Deal law and trigger a showdown in the Supreme Court rather than break his ‘do or die’ promise.
The Prime Minister will try to agree a new deal with Brussels at a summit on October 17 but should he fail he will then reportedly refuse to comply with legislation passed by MPs.
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