Cameron eyes the ladies

tygerland Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 03:13:17 PM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

David Cameron is still struggling to get the Constituent Tories to accept his big plans to increase the number of women wearing a blue rosette in the next parliament. (Source: The BBC)



He has his work cut out; women make up less than 10% of the Conservative MP's currently sitting in the commons.

Cameron plans to force constituencies to include two women in the four shortlisted for selection, which obviously comes short of Labour's policy, which saw `all-women shortlists'.   Female voters are now considered by the election beavers to be far more ambivalent in their political allegiances; in the past women could be counted on to vote fairly conservatively - this is no longer the case.  Parties now see a broad sexual representation in the house as the gateway to the female vote.  

Naturally the obdurate Tory grassroots are kicking up a fuss, claiming Glossy Dave has no right to dictate to the constituencies.  This will be a conflict Cameron will have to play very cleverly as he has already alienated many of the blue-rinse brigade who don't much like the cut of his modernising jib.  Of course selection by sex is an affront to the meritocracy, a sacred pillar of Thatcherism, and opens Cameron up to easy criticism from the Tebbit-led opposition within the Tory ranks.

It seems Dollybirds will not be forced on the Tory base!


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Cameron eyes the ladies | 11 comments (11 topical)

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#1)

by Andrea on Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 03:20:50 PM GMT

"Cameron plans to force constituencies to include two women in the four shortlisted for selection, which obviously comes short of Labour's policy, which saw `all-women shortlists'."

The option that leaves me more perplexed is the one where the members pick up the shortlist and the final choice of the candidate is made by the local association executive.
In an all women shortlist I can vote for the 100% Blairite woman, for the trade union woman, for the loony leftist woman (if she reaches the shortlist stage), in that case I would just be able to try to include a candidate in the shortlist and leave it to the executive to pick him/her up.


Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#8)

by libbysd on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 03:05:12 AM GMT

discrimination happens when some humans persecute others. in possitive discrimination it is the other way round. please forgive me for being born with a penus.

It is not up to man to force woman into parliament. it instead up to us all to eliminate sexism and then allow women to get themselves into parliament.


[ Parent ]

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#10)

by alexhilton on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 03:53:14 PM GMT

I like the sentiment but is your desire to end sexism a one-term commitment or an "aspiration" for the coming century?


[ Parent ]

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#2)

by otware on Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 05:04:56 PM GMT

Cameron is making all the same mistakes that Blair/New Labour have made. 'All women shortlists'; too much spin and sleaze...

I cannot think of anything less democratic than the 'all women shortlist'. It just so happened that they used this abomination on Peterborough CLP for the '97 election and as such the idiot Helen Clark was selected. She went on to win in 1997 and 2001, but lost last year. Just weeks after she lost she defected to the Tories.

So in short, 'all women shortlists' have done Labour much damage (Blaenau Gwent!), and in the end won't do the Tories any favours either.


Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#3)

by Andrea on Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 05:15:36 PM GMT

"It just so happened that they used this abomination on Peterborough CLP for the '97 election and as such the idiot Helen Clark was selected"

Many good female candidates were also selected though. It's not that AWS just produced the kinds of Helen Clark.
It must also be said that prior to 2005 GE Helen Clark lost the trigger ballot and she was forced to face an open selection where she also defeated men.

"Just weeks after she lost she defected to the Tories."

Still unclear if they took her. The fact she accused her Tory rival to have assaulted her (the policed dropped the inquiry for lack of evidence in her claims) probably didn't help to make her welcome in the local conservative association!

I still wonder how someone like her managed to get elected!


[ Parent ]

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#4)

by alexhilton on Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 08:51:12 PM GMT

It's possibly a good thing that we live in a Democracy rather than a meritocracy - but by definition, this means mediocre or poor politicians will always have the opportunity to be elected.

The fact remains that as a nation, we have elected countless poor, incompetent and downright corrupt men over the years - so does it matter if a few equally good and bad female politicians find their way into parliament through AWS?

AWS doesn't directly increase the competence of our body of politicians - however, it does change the culture of politics, opening the realistic prospect of a political career, theoretically, to an additional 50% of the population, among whom there will be some of the visionaries and great leaders of the future. Through this mechanism - in the long term, AWS works.

However, this is only theoretical - in practice it is still a miniscule proportion of the population that perceives politics as a noble or worthwhile pursuit for the average person - a group defined perhaps more by class than by gender. Only when we engineer a system of mass participation - where all citizens feel the path is open if they want to follow it - only then will we have a good chance of finding the the people who can make a difference.

We're trying to build a society for all - but we're relying on a narrow and select group of people to deliver it.


[ Parent ]

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#5)

by otware on Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 10:29:36 PM GMT

I don't doubt for a moment that women make just as good politicians as men (Glenda Jackson, Lynne Jones etc.) But AWS is simply a form of counter-sexism which was probably thrown in to appease militant feminists. To increase the number of women in parliament they should try and change the attitude so that women stand an equal chance in an open and democratic contest, not tout a list of 'Blair's Babes'.


[ Parent ]

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#6)

by Andrea on Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 10:33:34 PM GMT

"AWS doesn't directly increase the competence of our body of politicians - however, it does change the culture of politics, opening the realistic prospect of a political career, theoretically, to an additional 50% of the population, among whom there will be some of the visionaries and great leaders of the future. Through this mechanism - in the long term, AWS works."

well, you can say that AWS increase the competence of our body of politicians in the sense that they allowed good female candidates to be selected for winnable seats, while otherwise (for some "mysterious" reasons) they weren't able to get selected in the past.
In an ideal world candidates are selected on their merit and good women will defeat bad man and good man will defeat bad women. The problem is that the the world is not always ideal as we would it like to be. I find hard to believe that there were a so low number of women who had the talent and the capacity to be an MP before 1997.
So I don't mind AWS if they're the only way to get women in parliament, but I always hope one day there won't be the need of them anymore to achieve it.


[ Parent ]

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#7)

by alexhilton on Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 11:01:30 PM GMT

I'm not naturally an incrementalist - I tend to think we have such a short time on this earth that you have to be radical, to have a sence of urgency about reform, or else nothing much gets done.

I would be inclined to double the size of parliamentary constituencies and have each electorate elect both a man and a woman.

Job done.


[ Parent ]

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#9)

by Andrea on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 03:13:14 AM GMT

"she was forced to face an open selection where she also defeated men."

uhm, I've just realized that one of the men Helen defeated to get reselected has been recently arrested for vote rigging.


[ Parent ]

Re: Cameron eyes the ladies (#11)

by Andrea on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 07:57:54 PM GMT

One thing that would be interesting to know if how many women put forward their name for selection. I think the proportion of women is (or at least was) inferior to the male one.
I was surprised that apparently there was just one female applicant in Copeland selection last time.


Cameron eyes the ladies | 11 comments (11 topical)