Appoint more women to the Cabinet, Rudd urges next PM

AMBER RUDD has urged the new Tory leader to make sure there are more women in the Cabinet “making the decisions that matter”.

In an article for The Daily Telegraph website, the Work and Pensions Secretary argues that without a better gender balance in politics, women’s working lives are “not taken seriously enough”.

In comments that will be seen as a further pitch by Ms Rudd to stay in the Cabinet, she writes: “We must have more women around the table.”

Last week Ms Rudd dropped her opposition to a no-deal Brexit in a move that could save her Cabinet career if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister. Ms Rudd said she now accepted that no deal had to be “part of the armoury” if the new prime minister was to renegotiate with the EU. Mr Johnson has said his Cabinet will need to sign up to no deal being on the table.

Ms Rudd writes: “Getting more women into politics – and business and finance – remains one of the great feminist challenges of our time. The numbers speak for themselves, but when

women talk about this challenge we often have to answer why female representation in work, finance and politics actually matters. To me the answer is obvious. And the reason is because if you don’t have women in politics, then women’s working lives are not taken seriously enough.”

A source close to Ms Rudd said she “very much supports more women round the Cabinet table making decisions”. Yesterday she attended the Women in Politics summit in the Italian parliament. She uses her column to argue that female voices can act as a counterbalance to the “masculinity in propaganda” projected by leaders including Vladimir Putin.

A source from Mr Johnson’s campaign team said he is likely to have Ms Rudd in his Cabinet. The MP said: “He likes her. He feels comfortable with her and would like to have her in the room. He is instinctive about people.”

On Saturday Mr Johnson told a hustings the Conservatives needed to show they are a “party that promotes women”. Currently there are seven women Cabinet ministers and 21 men.

Munira Mirza, who served as deputy mayor for culture under Mr Johnson at City Hall, is rumoured to be lined up for a job, while last week, Liz Truss, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, renewed her bid to become chancellor. Priti Patel, the former development secretary, is a possible Tory chairman.

Other women who could be given positions include Penny Mordaunt, who is expected to stay as Defence Secretary, Andrea Leadsom and Victoria Atkins, the MP said.

Read the article at www.telegraph.co.uk