Tories aspire for half of MP candidates to be women

THE Conservatives yesterday announced an ambition to make 50 per cent of their parliamentary candidates women as the party’s chairman said female voices were not being heard enough.

Brandon Lewis said the Tories would seek to remedy the fact that just 20 per cent of the party’s MPS are women, despite the grassroots membership being 40 per cent female.

He said: “We need the best people in our Parliament and in our party. We will not achieve this if women are excluded and if their voices are not heard.

“Right now, around 30 per cent of those on our approved candidates list are women. This is not enough.

“I am setting out an ambition here today – to have women make up 50 per cent of our candidates list.

“This is not an easy ambition. But we have a duty to achieve it.”

The Tories faced criticism for choosing Mr Lewis to make the announcement as it came just weeks after he broke a voting pact with an MP who was on maternity leave.

Meanwhile, the presentation on the party’s official website caused controversy. Under the heading “The Voice of Women in Politics” was a picture of Mr Lewis tinted pink with the quote: “I want to make sure we are the party of equal opportunity.”

Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat MP who accused the Government of “cheating” to win a crunch Brexit vote after Mr Lewis broke pairing arrangements, posted three crying-withlaughter emojis as she responded on Twitter.