Report argues for 45 per cent female MPs and councillors

A new report, published by the Women and Equalities Committee, is campaigning for the government to set minimum quotes for the number of women in Parliament and local government.

The committee says that if voluntary measures do not achieve sufficient increases in candidate parity, all political parties should ensure that 45 per cent of all MPs and councillors are female by 2030. The group also argues that failing to meet the quota should incur financial penalties.

At present only 30 per cent of MPs are women, and with boundary commission changes proposed, that figure is likely to decrease. Globally, the House of Commons gender representation is ranked 48th, a position that committee chair Maria Miller labels as ‘shockingly low’.

All the main political parties fielded significantly less than 50 per cent women parliamentary candidates for the 2015 General Election. The report recommends that parties should set out what they intend to do to increase the proportion of women in the House in 2020, including adopting ambitious targets for women candidates in 'winnable' seats.

Miller said: “We are calling on political parties to publicly set out the measures they plan to take to increase the proportion and number of women parliamentary candidates in 2020. We must ensure that previous positive trends do not stagnate or reverse. There is no room for complacency.

“We need concrete action plans. We need party leadership to provide clear and strong direction in working with local parties to deliver more women candidates. We need to see more women candidates in winnable seats. Above all, parties need to be transparent and accountable in their progress – or the lack of it."