May’s maidens!
Theresa could break the record of 101 female MPs set by Blair’s Babes in 1997 landslide
REMEMBER Blair’s Babes, when a record 101 female Labour MPs were elected under Tony Blair in 1997?
Well, look out for May’s Maidens, with experts saying Theresa May could be about to welcome even more women to the Commons.
A Bollywood TV host, a young church preacher and the great-great-niece of former PM Neville Chamberlain are among those hoping to win key seats.
Five are standing in constituencies where Tories have retired, while 18 are fighting the party’s top 50 target seats.
If all win, the Conservatives will have more female MPs than Labour for the first time since 1983, with around 90.
But pollsters predict that if the Tories win a landslide, they could take as many as 100 extra constituencies where other parties are expected to succeed, adding more female MPs to the tally.
Such a rout would see Mrs May smash the record set in 1997.
Among the candidates are preacher Beth Prescott, 24, who describes herself as a ‘Yorkshire lass with no degree’ and is expected to overturn Labour’s majority of just 1,451 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
DJ Natasha Asghar is contesting Newport East, South Wales, after losing the seat by 4,705 votes in 2015. She hosts a Bollywood music show on satellite TV and is the author of the novel Me, Myself And My Arranged Marriage.
Caroline Squire hopes to win Birmingham Edgbaston, the seat held by her great-great-uncle Neville Chamberlain in the Thirties. The PR consultant is also the greatgreat-granddaughter of the statesman Joseph Chamberlain, whom Mrs May credits as an inspiration.
Women standing in seats where Tory MPs are retiring include Julia Dockerill in Hornchurch and Upminster, Essex, where the party had a majority of 13,074 in 2015. The 32-year- old councillor, who was chief- of- staff to MP Mark Field, faced embarrassment last November after being photographed carrying a memo that referred to the ideal model for Brexit as, ‘Have cake and eat it’.
Gillian Keegan is fighting Chich- ester, West Sussex, where Andrew Tyrie won a Tory majority of 24,413 two years ago. She is director of Women2Win, the Tory group cofounded by Mrs May to help get women selected as candidates.
Former minister Esther McVey
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After the 2015 election, 68 of the 331 Tory MPs were women, with 99 out of 232 for Labour. In 1997, 101 of Labour’s 418 MPs were female.
Marxists and anarchists are supporting Labour’s bid for Downing Street for the first time, it emerged last night.
Up to ten hard-Left groups are lining up to help Jeremy Corbyn enter No 10, enthused by his anticapitalist policies. The news comes a week after the Communist Party of Britain said it would not field candidates against Labour.
‘Have cake and eat it’