WOMEN’S BREAKTHROUGH AT NEXT ELECTION ‘IMPOSSIBLE’

Published: Wednesday, July 2nd 2008

On the 80th Anniversary of universal suffrage, research shows number of female MPs at next General Election stuck at ‘97 levels.

There is no prospect of increasing the number of women MPs at the next election, according to new research from the Electoral Reform Society published today. As the country marks eighty years since universal suffrage, analysis of parliamentary candidates has revealed that the parties have not done enough to ensure that an increase in women MPs is even a possibility.

Eight decades on from the ‘Flapper Vote’ and women are still being passed over by local parties when they choose candidates for winnable seats. The Society’s research shows that if, as expected, the Conservatives increase their share of the vote at the next election, the number of women MPs will at best remain the same – and most likely fall.

Women currently make up just 20% of the House of Commons today, a figure virtually unchanged since the Labour’s landslide in 1997.

The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives look set to improve their own parties’ gender balance – but the likely loss of dozens of marginal seats currently held by female Labour MPs would offset any gains in the overall representation on women in the House.

Dr Ken Ritchie, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society said:

“This year we have marked 90 years since women in Britain first won the vote. Today we celebrate a further milestone: 80 years since full equality between men and women was finally achieved at the ballot box. But equality in law has not meant equality at Westminster.  

“Which ever way you spin it, the next election simply cannot prove a watershed moment for women in politics. Progress has always been hard fought, and the parties are simply not picking their battles.

“1997 was in many ways a false dawn for equality. In the last decade where we’ve needed concerted effort, we’ve seen stagnation. The modest numbers of women in parliament have been taken as a permanent breakthrough. In place of an upward curve we have seen a plateau, in what remains a male dominated institution.”

Beatrice Barleon, the Society’s Women’s Officer said:

“The parties talk a lot about the need for greater equality but in every likely scenario for the next election, they can’t deliver. That’s not to say the parties have done nothing – just not enough.

“And the blame can’t just lie with the parties: our voting system fails women – and minority groups. The evidence from around the world is unambiguous – where there is a fairer, more proportional system, countries have more women and minority representatives.
 
“At the moment, if you want to support a party, you have to vote for whoever they put up as your local candidate, which still most likely to be a man. In contrast, a more proportional system like STV would provide parties with an incentive to field a more diverse range of candidates – allowing voters to choose the candidate from their favourite party that they identify with the most.

“Our current system has denied voters the simple opportunity to choose a female candidate in a winnable seat, holding back the breakthroughs seen in other European countries, and even in our own devolved assemblies. Scotland and Wales, with their proportional systems, have much better ratios of women MPs – the Welsh Assembly now ranking among the world’s top flight for women’s representation. 

“Candidate selections aren’t quite over, but the last holdouts in a handful of undecided seats cannot make an impact. If the politicians are serious about equality then they will need to do more than just tinker at the margins.  Obviously they need to stand female candidates where they have a chance of getting elected. And of course voters have to be prepared to elect them. But as our European neighbours have proved, you need a system that opens doors to female politicians.”

Print quality event photos are available here..

LIKELY SCENARIOS FOR GENDER COMPOSITION OF THE NEXT PARLIAMENT

	Total seats	Men	Women	TBA	Women %
2005 election	646	518	128	0	19.8
No change	650	497	138	15	21.2
Lost Lab majority	650	502	135	13	20.8
Con largest single party	650	504	134	12	20.6
Conservative majority	650	516	122	12	18.8
Conservative working majority	650	517	120	13	18.5
Increased Lab majority 2% swing	650	484	149	17	22.9

Based on all available data on candidates and incumbents as at 29 June 2008, and allowing for new boundaries – ‘No change’ indicates a result exactly in line with 2005 but on the new parliamentary boundaries and new selections in cases where MPs have indicated they will stand down.

Explanatory notes, and breakdowns by party are available here...

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Photo Op Running order:

Location: Old Palace Yard
Times: 9.00 – 12.30
To mark the occasion some 21st Century ‘Flappers’ will be protesting outside parliament, to remind politicians that 80 years on we are still waiting for equality.

• 9:00 Male and female protesters in late 1920s period attire arrive in Westminster. Photo ops/ to camera comments throughout the day.
• 9:30-12:00 Photo ops with Members of parliament. 50 confirmed at time of release. Details available upon request.
• 12:30 End
  

A separate release has been sent to photo agencies and picture desks.  All media are welcome to attend this photo opportunity. Please contact ashley.de@electoral-reform.org.uk

Research

• For details of gender composition by party and for international indicators download this briefing here... 
  
• Female candidates (including incumbents) for the next general election currently available are 141 Labour, 87 Conservative, 77 Lib Dem
• The Inter-Parliamentary Union maintains detailed up to date figures on gender composition of parliaments by country. Britain is in joint 60th place with Cambodia . Of the countries placed above Britain only a tiny minority rely on majoritarian systems like First-Past-the-Post or AV.
• Historical data on the gender composition of the House of Commons is available from the House of Commons Information Office
  
• Still only a minority of seats in the UK have seen women’s representation. Earlier research based on this topic is available here..  Source data is available here..
  
• Requests for bespoke research and analysis on women’s representation can be directed to the Society’s press office.

Background

• On July 2nd 1928 the Representation of the People Act 1928 was passed. This Act expanded on the legislation of the same name of a decade earlier, widening suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men.  Women and men were now able to vote from the age of 21. Prior to this only women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications could vote in general elections.
• The Electoral Reform Society is part of the 2008: Women and the Vote campaign. See  www.womenandthevote.com. Partners include Centre for Women and Democracy: www.cfwd.org.uk,  Engender – www.engender.org.uk, The Fawcett Society – www.fawcett.org.uk, The Hansard Society – www.hansardsociety.org.uk and Unlock Democracy – www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk

Contacts
For further comment please contact the Society’s press office on 020 79281622, or Ashley Dé on 07968791684 or ashley.de@electoral-reform.org.uk