In 1997, the number of women MPs more than doubled; since then progress seems to have stalled. There are currently 126 women in the Commons – just 19.5% of the total 645 members and only 6 more than in 1997.
In 2010 the political parties will have a chance to do something about this, but the challenge for each of them is different, and, as the election approaches, the political will may also start to waver. So what does each of them need to do?
Labour has 94 women MPs – and the huge gap between them and any other party could itself be a problem. Labour needs to keep up the momentum as the gap narrows, as it will, whatever the outcome on polling day. So far, only 28% of Labour candidates overall are women, but this masks the fact that the use of All Women Shortlists (AWS) has kept the number of women candidates in Labour-held seats relatively high. On the other hand, the number of women in marginal seats may mean that losses cancel out gains, depending on the results.
The challenge for the Conservatives is greater. There are currently only 18 Conservative women MPs a mere 9%. The A-list system introduced when David Cameron became leader led to a real increase in the number of women candidates in seats the party could win, but on the whole the newer open primary process has not benefited women, and has cancelled out some of the A-list gains. 22% of Conservative candidates are women at present; any future use of AWS may increase this. Either way, the Conservatives will probably see a significant increase in their number of women, though whether it will be enough to make a real impact on the percentage in the House overall is another matter.
The 9 women MPs the Liberal Democrats currently have (out of 63 overall) is very low, but the party has made a sustained effort to do something to change that and has a very high number of women standing in seats where sitting MPs are retiring. Overall, 22% of Liberal Democrat candidates to date are women. However, the numbers involved are in themselves so small that, even if the number of Lib Dem women more than doubled, the impact would be marginal.
In 1997, there were 24 countries with a higher percentage of women MPs than the UK; there are now 65. This is not because we have got worse, but because we’ve more or less stood still and other countries have overtaken us. This does actually matter; the under-representation of over half the population and the under-utilisation of their skills, experiences and abilities does the whole country a disservice.
CFWD will be monitoring how the parties do – see our Candidate Watch page on our website.
