Equality doesn’t happen by accident

At last night’s GC we had a contested election for our vice chair campaigns (I know, but stay with me). Two bright, able and keen women stood for the position that had become vacant following a by-election win for the previous incumbent back in September.It’s significant because the previous month for various reasons only a man had stood, potentially upsetting the gender balance of our EC. An argument was made that women do well in our GC and locally. They’re right too. 14 of our 30 councillors are women and half our Cabinet are too. The previous incumbent was a woman who succeeded me as the post holder. So why bother?

Dogged on this issue I stuck with the fight – which wasn’t universally popular – and ensured that the party took it’s responsibility to equality seriously.

The point of recounting this is not to criticise my local comrades. There is a legitimate view that in our local area people come through the party from a variety of different backgrounds and are successful. And that can be demonstrated by the people who hold positions in the party and on the council.

But I firmly believe that complacency is an enemy of equality. When there were no all women shortlists in 2001 the number of women MPs fell. Women and ethnic minorities are less likely to be elected as both councillors and MPs. Bringing people through the party’s structure will help develop more viable candidates.

If we as a local area are good at this, we should take more responsibility and we can’t rest on our laurels – as the 2001 parliamentary experience demonstrates. It also shows with a bit of extra effort, asking around, and encouragement people will come forward – and that’s the point. Achieving proper representation at a local and national level doesn’t happen by accident we have to work at it and we have to take responsibility for delivering it. All of us.

When we stop working at it, representation of marginalised and underrepresented groups falls back. We as a party have rules to help us achieve this equality. Which is why it’s really disappoiting that we won’t be using all women shortlists where an MP stands down at the next election until all the incumbency issues are resolved. The focus on that fight at the moment should be on making appropriate representations to the boundary commission.

But as you start getting representations to vote in the NEC elections, ask the candidates what they are going to do to ensure that the procedures for selection for the 2015 general eleciton don’t set us back on women’s equality. Because at the moment they do. Which given we’re the only party that’s ever taken this seriously means we’re not just setting the party backwards, we’re setting the country backwards.