Voice soars
candidates in the General Election were women.
A spokesman said: “Women are under-represented at almost every level of power in Scotland and by locking out that experience and talent we are putting limits on our nation’s potential.
“Scottish Labour has taken the lead in delivering more balanced slates of candidates and we have a 50/ 50 split this year, with 29 women and 29 men contesting
Campaigners warn gender equality is still a long way off. every seat in Scotland we do not currently hold.”
Northern Ireland would see no change, with two female MPs elected.
Leader of t h e Wo m e n’s Equality Party, Sophie Walker, said the projected increase was a reason for celebration, but highlighted that the election of 200 female MPs would still place Britain behind countries such as Zimbabwe, Uganda, Spain and Mexico in terms of female representation in parliament. She said: “This is particularly worrying as we move towards Brexit and the drafting of the Great Repeal Bill: government must be closely scrutinised to ensure the continuation of women’s rights to equal pay, pregnancy protection and parttime workers’ rights.
“Women’s Equality support proportional representation, which is shown to work better for women and minorities and bring the diversity of experience that Westminster needs.”
Frances Scott, director of the 50: 50 Parliament campaign group, which advocates an equal split among male and female MPs, said the projections were positive, but warned that there was a long way to go before the gender representation gap was filled.
She said: “Of course it’s good that it’s going in the right direction, but it’s appalling that it’s still like this.”
Ms Scott said she believed women required greater levels of encouragement and consideration in order to stand for election.
She said: “I think sexism still e x i s t s . Wo m e n (are) still subjected to dreadful comments when they stand.
“I think it’s about giving women self-confidence.”
Equalities minister and Conser vative candidate for Gosport, Caroline Dinenage, said she found the projections “encouraging for the future”.
Ms Dinenage is standing for re- election against five other candidates in the south coast constituency, including two women: Monica Cassidy of the Green Party, and Ukip’s Chloe Palmer.
She said: “From the Conservatives’ point of view, for a good number of our retiring seats we have female candidates, and it’s particularly heartening they were selected not from allfemale shortlists, but entirely on their own merit.”
She added: “I would hope that we continue to make progress on this, because parliament is more effective when it reflects the people it represents.”