Johnson promises to bring more women into government

Boris Johnson has pledged to increase the number of women in senior jobs in the government and at all levels of the party if he becomes prime minister next week, acknowledging that the Conservatives need to go further in signing up “more talented women”.

The frontrunner to succeed Theresa May in Downing Street made his pitch to increase female representation – and do more generally for gender equality in the workplace – in a letter to women Tory MPS.

It is a tacit acknowledgement that Mr Johnson needs to do more to boost his feminist credentials after a leadership campaign in which his personal treatment of women throughout his chequered love life has been the focus of attention.

His leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, in a letter to the same group, also pledged to increase female representation in the party, as well as offering a broad range of policies on flexible working for new parents and women’s rights at work.

Mr Johnson is under pressure to boost the number of women in senior Cabinet roles – particularly because, if he wins, he will replace only the second female Prime Minister.

At a debate earlier this week, Mr Johnson, and Mr Hunt, both pledged to put at least one woman in one of the great offices of state – foreign secretary, home secretary or chancellor, although defence secretary would also be seen as a senior role.

Yet female Tory MPS want the next prime minister to go further and boost the number of women around the Cabinet table.

There are currently five female Cabinet ministers, including Mrs May, and a further three women who attend Cabinet.

In his letter to the Conservative Women in Parliament group, which was sent last month but has only emerged now, Mr Johnson wrote that he agreed with the party’s “aspiration” for 50 per cent of prospective parliamentary candidates to be women.

He added: “I would like to see a similar focus for all levels of the party.”

In a hustings in Exeter last month, he declined to commit to a 50/50 Cabinet, but his comments in his letter suggest pushing gender equality across the government.

However, because Mr Johnson’s pledge does not explicitly state a target for the Cabinet, there are doubts among some MPS that he will translate his words into top jobs.

In the letter, Mr Johnson said: “We need to reach out to more talented women, and make sure that we don’t neglect the people who have already signed up.”