Labour MP’s ‘tin hat’ Nicola Sturgeon jibe mocked

Twitter user Barbara Wilson was among many who showed their support for Nicola Sturgeon. Picture: Twitter

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A LABOUR MP has been accused of sexism and derided online for remarks made at a party conference where he referred to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as “the wee lass with the tin helmet on.”

David Hamilton, MP for Midlothian and the Labour party whip, made the remarks on Saturday as he urged colleagues to campaign positively against the SNP.

At Scottish Labour’s spring conference, Mr Hamilton said: “We’ve got to go out there and not just be negative about the SNP because that’s very easy to do when you see the wee lass with the tin helmet on.”

The remarks drew a mixed response from the party – there was laughter at the conference, and tweets from party figures such as Iain Gray and Blair McDougall that complimented Mr Hamilton on his speech. However, a subsequent tweet by Scottish Labour Kezia Dugdale – since deleted – suggested that Mr Hamilton had been “pulled up” internally for his comments.

Activists and SNP politicians seized on Mr Hamilton’s comments, which were widely criticised on Twitter, by posting selfies of themselves wearing tin hats in support of the First Minister.

Owen Thompson, the SNP’s Midlothian candidate, said: “This sexist comment and its reaction in the hall at the Labour Conference suggests the dinosaurs are sadly still roaming the Labour Party in Scotland.”

Mr Hamilton will step down before May’s general election.

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