40% of Liberal Democrat candidates in winnable seats are women

4.19.00pm GMT Thu 3rd Feb 2005

Charles Kennedy will be welcoming more women Lib Dem MPs to Westminster after the General Election

• Liberal Democrats Gender Balance Task Force achieves key target. 40% of Liberal Democrat candidates in winnable seats for the (expected) 2005 General Election are women. Figures released this week show that the Liberal Democrats have achieved a key target set just after the 2001 General Election.

At a Federal Party Conference in 2001 the party rejected the controversial all-women shortlists approach adopted by the Labour Party in 1997, favouring instead an inclusive approach of training, mentoring and support for women candidates.

In addition to achieving the 40% target, women currently make up 28% of the currently selected candidates, and this figure is still expected to rise. Not including the seats currently held by MPs the figure increases to 32%, a full 10% up on the 2001 General Election.

Chair of the Gender Balance Task Force, Baroness Harris of Richmond commented: 'These figures are excellent. At a time when the Conservative Party are sacking their female candidates left, right and centre, the Liberal Democrats will be going into the General Election with more women in winnable seats than ever.

'The Party owes a huge debt to the Gender Balance Task Force staff and volunteers who have worked for long hours on limited resources to ensure that this advance has been made.'

Former Chair of the GBTF, Sandra Gidley MP (Spokes for Women) added:

'Many of us were sceptical about the number of women we could really help by using this approach. However these figures demonstrate that through training and support we really can make a difference, and perhaps raising the profile is making a different more quickly than we would have expected.'

The Liberal Democrats have been heavily criticised by the Fawcett Society and other similar organisations for not taking up All Women Shortlists. However the most recent comments from the Fawcett Society indicate that they believe Liberal Democrat results will be far more positive than they had ever believed with the very real possibility of doubling the number of women within the Parliamentary Part at the next General Election.

During the General Election, and the months leading up to it, the Gender Balance Task Force will re-focus its work towards getting candidates elected. A programme of general support as well as targeted campaigning resources is being planned along with fundraising events for money for the campaign itself.