'Easy, tiger': Lib Dem candidate in sexism row at EUSA hustings

Students expecting a dramatic showdown at the Edinburgh University Students' Association-hosted hustings for the key battleground constituency of Edinburgh Central bore witness to a strange spectacle last week, after a lacklustre performance from all five major political parties in a debate which saw the Lib Dem candidate accused of sexism.

The event, held in the union's Teviot Row House building and moderated by University of Edinburgh politics head Mark Aspinwall, saw incumbent Labour MSP Sarah Boyack pitted against representatives of the Scottish National Party, Greens, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrat candidate Alex Cole-Hamilton found himself embroiled in a minor controversy after saying “Easy, tiger!” to Ms Boyack during a terse argument over a proposed two-year council tax freeze.

Some have claimed that the remark was sexist, with EUSA president Liz Rawlings taking to Twitter to suggest that it “was meant to patronise and demean” Ms Boyack.

Ms Rawlings later told The Journal that while Mr Cole-Hamilton “has been a real supporter of students and student issues,” she felt that “the sort of language that has become acceptable in politics is exactly the sort of language and behaviour that puts women off entering it as a profession.”

Ms Boyack herself admitted that she did not hear the original remark, but told The Journal that “people aspiring to represent constituents should avoid remarks that could cause offence or lower the tone of debates. I know that many attending the hustings felt that the comment was completely inappropriate.”

Speaking to The Journal, Mr Cole-Hamilton claimed the remark was simply good-natured banter, emphasising that the phrase was one he uses “for the purpose of comedy, and without any regard for gender.”

Continuing, he said that he was “very sorry if an interpretation of that phrase has caused people offence, but it was certainly never my intent.”

James McAsh, secretary of the Edinburgh University Feminist Society said that the comment “was certainly sexist, although I doubt [Mr Cole-Hamilton] intended it to be. He criticised Sarah on the grounds that she showed emotion – in this case, anger.

“When men show anger, it is a sign of passion or strength, but if a woman does the same then she's being hysterical and should control herself.”

Both Ms Rawlings and Mr McAsh claimed that the remark highlighted “institutional” or “societal” sexism, pointing out the continuing gender equality gap in British politics.

But despite acknowledging this imbalance as “a national disgrace” Mr Cole-Hamilton rejected any connection between his remarks and the wider issue of gender equality. “I fail to see how these two points are connected,” he said.

A former president of Aberdeen University Students' Representative Council, Mr Cole-Hamilton currently works as head of policy at children's charity Aberlour. In 2005, he ran against Gordon Brown for the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath seat at Westminster, coming in third place.

He has been actively involved with the student opposition movement against the coalition government's plans for higher education, and told the hustings audience that his party remains “passionately” in favour of the principle free education.

The debate over education funding dominated the evening, with Conservative candidate Iain McGill proposing a £4,000 graduate contribution repayable by graduates earning over £25,000. “We see that as very progressive,” he told onlookers.

Citing a 3 per cent gap in the universities budget, Ms Boyack appeared to reject a graduate contribution for Scotland, but mooted a number of possible higher education funding solutions, referring variously to philanthropy, “service charges” and “efficiency savings”.

Marco Biagi of the SNP partially endorsed Ms Boyack's position, commenting that “there is already a graduate contribution to higher education – it's called income tax.” Mr Biagi further suggested that some administrative functions, such as human resources, could be merged across several institutions in order to cut costs.

Adam Ramsay of the Scottish Greens vowed that his party would defend the continued provision of free higher education in Scotland by raising the basic rate of income tax by 0.5 per cent and using the Scottish Parliament's tax-varying powers in an attempt to raise an extra £1 billion in revenue from higher-earning Scots.

Edinburgh Central is regarded by both the Liberal Democrats and the SNP as an important target constituency: Ms Boyack has held the seat since devolution in 1999, but with an increasingly slim majority. She won re-election by just under 1,200 votes in 2007, and current polls suggest that the SNP may well unseat her on 5 May.

Mr Ramsay, a former EUSA president, is at the bottom of his party's candidate list for the Lothians region. Party officials confirmed that the party's decision to contest only the regional list was driven by concern over the potential financial drain of lost deposits in unsuccessful constituency races.

Mr Cole-Hamilton's comments have been compared to David Cameron's “calm down, dear” gaffe in the House of Commons earlier that day. After using the Michael Winner catchphrase to silence an interruption from Labour front-bencher Angela Eagle, the PM has been dogged by calls for an apology.