Labour stand firm on their decision to use an all-women shortlist in Cynon Valley

The Labour party has stood firm on its decision to use an all-women shortlist (AWS) to select the next Labour parliamentary candidate for Cynon Valley.

Following current MP Ann Clwyd’s decision to step-down at the next general election, the constituency was marked as one of the areas in which an AWS would be used. But, as we wrote two weeks ago, local constituents opposed the decision and called for a meeting with Labour’s General Secretary Iain McNicol. This caused open debate within the party: Ann Clwyd MP supported the local party’s right to make it’s own decision over the terms of selection, while First Minister for Wales Carwyn Jones came out in favour of AWS.

In the midst of all of this, the central party has reiterated its stance – although McNicol is set to pay a visit to Cynon Valley to discuss the matter, the Labour Party has said that there is no right of appeal to its decision.

Speaking with the BBC, local Labour secretary Alun Williams, who’s acting as the spokesperson for the local party, wouldn’t say whether they would accept the party’s decision. But he did go on to say:

“The anger is still there. We have always said we want to meet with him [Iain McNicol] and get him to listen to the anger and to respond to the general concerns we have about the way the decision was made and the decision itself.”

However, given the poor record on gender representation in Parliament – we can’t repeat enough that between 1918 and 2013 only 8% of our MPs have been women and in Wales only 5% have been female – for many, the central party’s decision will be a welcome one.