Brighton and Hove Presents the First All Female Candidate List
Brighton Short Breaks welcomes Brighton and Hove attesting its self view as the most Right On townin the United Kingdomthis week with the occurance that it is the first occurance a parliamentary election has found an all-female listing of nominees.
20 years after Mrs Thatcher broke political ground by the first ever female Prime Minister the complaint that the vestibules of Westminster are still a masculine commanded territory ring just as clamorously as ever! So, Brighton and Hove’s all-out female short list of Parliamentary nominees generates some boost to a potential future change of base in the gender equalizer in the political power arena .
Being quoted in The Argus , Fawcett Society chief executive Ceri Goddard said: “If all the candidates are women that is cause for celebration but also concern that it has taken until 2009, whereas all-male elections are still the norm.
“The voters if Brighton can be pleased that whom ever they elect they will be a step closer to closing the gender gap in parliament where currently less than 20% of our MP’s are women – less than Iraq, Afghanistan and Rwanda.”
‘Less than Iraq, Afghanistan and Rwanda……… ‘ – personally that particular assertion left me somewhat embarrassed about the state of our political domain and speculative as to the reasons for male domination above and beyond the old precedence that gentlemen should have it entirely their own way – and its a whole Pandoras box of debate that is better left for some other place.
But my role here today is as – as always – to fly the flag for Brighton and Hove and present how headfirst reckoning and politically sensible our is, and having a ratio of men to women in parliament more symbolic of the population, is in my thought, a step in the right direction!
