I sincerely hope that this will be the last coalition Christmas we will need to endure. At last the general election feels within touching distance – and the chance of a Labour government is real. One thing is for sure after next May’s election – we will see another jump in the number of women elected to parliament. Remember, there are still fewer than one in four of our members of parliament who are women, although Labour has by far the strongest record with 86 MPs – a third of the parliamentary Labour party. As I am happy to repeat, this has not come about by accident – it has happened because Labour took positive action through all-women shortlists to make it happen. And, before we get carried away with our efforts, it is also worth remembering that only 18 per cent of elected mayors are women and that there are nearly eight male council leaders for every one woman.
That is why the work of Labour Women’s Network and others campaigning for more equal political representation remains so crucial. LWN is going from strength to strength. There were over 20 candidates for just three places on the management committee last year – and we have got a great new chair in Liv Bailey. We continue to grow our well-respected training programmes, most new women candidates have taken part – and our graduates are more diverse than the existing cohort of MP – so shut up, dinosaurs. This is not about middle-class women pushing out working-class men. It is about opening up politics to a range of new voices, experiences and talents.
While training women is important, it is political systems and institutions which need to change more than women do. It is not a lack of confidence or skills which prevent women reaching senior political positions, but rather a failure to distribute power more equally. This is the theme of LWN’s new powerpledge to be launched at our Christmas drinks on Tuesday.
As well as supporting all-women shortlists and other action to further improve diversity in our elected representatives, the pledge also calls for 50:50 representation in the cabinet and asks people not to appear on all-male panels. By the way, if you’re organising a panel and finding it difficult to get a female speaker, why not try LWN’s speakers’ panel where women speakers are available in all regions and covering all subjects. It is really not that difficult!
LWN has not backed off other sensitive issues too. Let’s be honest. It is unlikely that only the United Kingdom Independence party and the Liberal Democrats have members or staff who use their power to sexually harass women staff and members. The right thing to do is to confront this where it happens and to set up the policies and support to prevent it. That is also an important theme of the pledge.
So what is stopping you? Why not sign the pledge – LWN will announce the first signatories at the Christmas reception on Tuesday evening. You are welcome to that as well. Here are the details of the pledge. Thank you in anticipation for your support in making Labour stronger and our country fairer.
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Jacqui Smith is a former home secretary, writes the Monday Politics column for Progress, and tweets @Jacqui_Smith1