Jo joins flappers in call for more women MPs

2.30.00pm GMT Wed 2nd Jul 2008

Jo Swinson chairs the Lib Dems Campaign for Gender Balance

On the 80th anniversary of men and women receiving equality at the ballot box, Jo Swinson has joined with activists calling for more women in parliament.

Women currently make up just 20% of the House of Commons today.

Jo said:

"The serious under-representation of women in Parliament is one of the great ongoing scandals of our political system. It is eight decades since the Representation of the People Act gave women electoral equality with men, but just 1 in 5 MPs today are women."

Dr Ken Ritchie, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society said:

"This year we have marked 90 years since women in Britain first won the vote. Today we celebrate a further milestone: 80 years since full equality between men and women was finally achieved at the ballot box. But equality in law has not meant equality at Westminster.

"1997 was a false dawn for equality. In the last decade when we've needed concerted effort, we've seen stagnation. Where proportional voting systems have been introduced more women have been elected. But at Westminster, in place of an upward curve, we have seen a plateau in what remains a male-dominated institution."

Related Links:

Electoral Reform Society

Campaign for Gender Balance