The party is already the whitest and most male-dominated in parliament.
Analysis by Left Foot Forward shows that the new Tory MPs elected to parliament this year are likely to be disproportionately white and male.
Of 55 Conservative candidates for Tory-held or target seats, 96% are white and 70% are men.
This is more than the UK population as a whole, where just 82% are white and 49% are male.
The parliamentary Conserative Party is already the most male-dominated of the major parties.
After the 2017 election, just 21% of its MPs were women – compared to 45% of Labour MPs, 34% of SNP MPs and 33% of Lib Dems.
In contrast, two-thirds of Labour’s candidates for winnable seats are women and the party could be the first to have an equal gender split among its MPs.
The parliamentary Conservative Party is also already the whitest of any major party.
According to parliamentary research from September 2019, all but 18 of the Conservative Party’s MPs were white. Of Labour’s MPs, 52 are Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and the Liberal Democrats had three BAME MPs.
Elijai Morais, a Womens’ Equality Party candidate, told Left Foot Forward:
“The fact that the Tories have overwhelmingly chosen men to stand in safe seats reflects the damaging belief that men are the safer choice in times of political turbulence, while women’s representation is an optional ‘add-on’. And this is not limited to the Conservatives, as we saw in the targeting of women through Labour’s trigger ballot process.
“But the inclusion of women in politics is crucial, particularly as we approach an election that will decide the future of Britain’s relationship with the EU – decisions that will have serious implications for women and minorities.
“At a time when female MPs are stepping down due to the abuse and harassment they face, while women’s representation in parliament remains stuck at less than a third, all parties should be doing as much as they can to address encourage women to join – and remain in – politics. December marks a century since the first woman MP sat in parliament. The Conservatives are on the wrong side of history if they think women will accept their continued exclusion from politics a hundred years on.”
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3 Responses to “New Tory MPs likely to be disproportionately white and male”
Dave Roberts
And the point of this article is?
Tom Sacold
And … ?
wg
Have the contributors to Left Foot Forward looked at the EU institutions.
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