Forcing the local Labour party to select a female candidate is anti-democratic and unneccessary, much better to ensure training and encouragement is available and make sure the candidate selected is the best candidate for the job. Letter sent to the Evening Courier, full text below the fold:
Dear Editor,
In the week that the local Labour Party decide who will stand as their candidate for the Calder Valley in the next General Election, I would venture a couple of observations. Firstly, they have an all-woman shortlist. This is the result apparently of a central Labour Party policy that tells local parties that where their last MP was a woman (Chris McCafferty in this case), then they must choose another woman. Secondly, from what I hear, they are not altogether happy about this arrangement. I can just imagine how the men who would have liked to stand would be feeling. And I wouldn’t want to be in the women’s shoes either, having to answer the inevitable challenges.
In the Liberal Democrats we too are committed to the principle of getting more women elected. But not at the expense of the “best person for the job” principle. We choose instead to invest in training opportunities for our able women, helping to develop their confidence and campaigning skills. And we organise mentoring and support arrangements to local parties to encourage women to put themselves forward. We even have a policy that ensures that minority groups are represented on the longer shortlists. But we stop short of barring good candidates from standing on the basis of their gender as the Labour Party are doing. I, for one, stood for selection against three male candidates and won convincingly on a one member, one vote basis. Unfortunately, the Labour parliamentary candidate, however able they may be, will never benefit from the same level of endorsement or confidence in their position.
