Equality fight ‘stuck’ as two thirds of councillors are male

Only a third of councillors in England are female, a campaign has revealed.

The Fawcett Society study found a less than one per cent change in the proportion of women elected to local government in England in the last year, with just 34 per cent of seats taken by females.

In 1997, that figure was 28 per cent. In the 2018 local elections, 38 per cent of seats went to women, according to the analysis, with 112 more female councillors elected than when they were last contested four years ago.

Some 97 per cent of councils had more men than women with just 18 per cent of authorities having a female leader.

Sam Smethers, the society’s chief executive, said: “This is really disappointing. We are literally crawling along. As we mark the centenary of women’s suffrage, women’s representation across local government is stuck in the past. It is time for a strategic response.”