With party conference in Birmingham about to start, we now have the latest figures on how the party is doing at getting a less male-dominated Parliamentary party. The Campaign for Gender Balance reports:

• Winnable seats: approximately 40% of our most winnable seats have women PPCs.
• Held seats: 4 out of the 8 seats that have MPs standing down have selected women.

The last point is particularly important as, although the party has been moving towards a good record of gender balance in newly won seats (either at general elections or by-elections), the overall balance of the Parliamentary Party has been held back by a history of heavy male dominance and a long sequence of retiring men being succeeded by male candidates.

On these figures, the 2010 election won’t revolutionise the make-up of the party but it will continue the serious progress made over the last 12 years.

From The Times:

He intends to use information from his research into the biography to attack his opponent. It was never released because publishers were unwilling to associate their brand with the BNP leader.

“I will put it to good use in exposing Griffin beyond what’s already been in the public domain,” he said. “It’s very important to fight a strong campaign and it will be critical to challenge Nick Griffin every step of the way. I want to make people think long and hard about voting for him in Barking. It’s very, very important.”

Mr Carman has more than 20 hours of videotaped interviews with Mr Griffin over two years from 2003. He has interviewed Mr Griffin’s family and associates, including the National Front leaders who shaped his views, on numerous occasions.

Dominic Carman said he will campaign on local issues, including jobs and housing:

I will argue Liberal Democrat policies in a normal way. But I’m not going to select Margaret Hodge for special criticism. I am going to select Nick Griffin for that.

Read the full story in The Times.

But for further details on how you could become a Liberal Democrat prospective candidate see http://libdems4parliament.org.uk.

I am so pleased that my local Lib Dem candidate is genuinely the sort of person I would be proud to go out and campaign for. I wish him luck and will do whatever I can to help him.

Richard Gadsden – selected for Worsley and Eccles South

Martin Land – selected for Hungtingdon

Good luck one and all.

From a press release by Cambridge Liberal Democrats:

“Julian was selected from a shortlist of six candidates who fought for the position at Hustings at The Michaelhouse Centre in Trinity Street, Cambridge last night (Friday).

The ballot was called after MP David Howarth decided to stand down at the general election to return to his academic career at Clare College.

Julian said: “I am delighted and honoured to be given the chance to fight for this seat in the general election in my home town; it is a great privilege.”

Julian grew up in Cambridge and has represented the diverse interests of the city, including the universities, students, council estates and the knowledge economy as county councillor for East Chesterton between 2001 and 2009 and as Lib Dem group leader. He is a member of Liberty’s national council.

Julian works as a scientist at the Cavendish Laboratory and believes that his scientific background is one of his great strengths in fighting for the Cambridge seat in Parliament.

“So many decisions from climate change to health care require detailed understanding of what is actually happening,” he told members. “We must try to change the way policies are made in this country so that they are made for clear reasons and not just as knee jerk reactions to media scare stories.”

Speaking on climate change he said he was proud to be “green” and that all Lib Dem policies from transport to housing were environmentally sustainable.

“I will continue to fight for our liberal, progressive, green and international values,” he said.

David Howarth said: “I am delighted that Julian has been chosen as the candidate for the general election. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the position and I am confident the future is in good hands.”

Local Liberal Democrat members have chosen local campaigner Chris Nelson to be the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the Kettering constituency.

Chris Nelson was born and brought up in Kettering – attending Millbrook Infant & Junior Schools as well as Ise Community College – and has a degree in law from Oxford Brookes University. He contested Ise Division in last June’s county council elections and works as an aide for Northampton Liberal Democrats and Bill Newton Dunn MEP.

He takes over the role from Roger Aron – who contested the constituency in the 1997, 2001 and 2005 General Elections – after securing 62% in a ballot of local members.

Speaking after his selection on Thursday evening, Chris Nelson said:

“After achieving in June our highest share of the vote since 1991, I want to show how the Liberal Democrats offer a genuine alternative to the tired old politics of Labour and the Conservatives – and how we have real solutions to provide new jobs, clean up politics and put money back into the pockets of hardworking middle and low income families.”

“Our area continues to count the cost of a Labour Government that has failed to deliver on its promises – and is labouring under poorly-run Conservative councils that have slashed services and arrogantly dismissed the views of local people.”

“Whenever Gordon Brown decides to call an election, the Liberal Democrats will be ready and waiting to make the case for a fairer, greener Britain!”

• Montgomeryshire – Prospective Welsh Assembly Candidate (02 Jan 2010)
• High Peak – PPC (08 Jan 2010)
• Battersea – PPC (18 Jan 2010)
• Tooting – PPC (18 Jan 2010)
• Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire – Prospective Scottish Parliamentary Candidate (22 Jan 2010)

For further details on how you could become the Liberal Democrat prospective candidate in any of these constituencies see http://libdems4parliament.org.uk/events. The site also have further information and contact details if you’re interested in finding out more about how to become a candidate more generally.

While there is evidence that rather suggests this constituency is on the receiving end of Ashcroft money, the local Tories have not been polling anywhere near well enough in local by-elections to suggest that could take this seat off Labour. The local Conservatives have been pushing for the building of 10,000 new houses on green field sites, and the Port of Dover is rumoured to be earmarked for privatisation in a Government sale of assets, one of several key local issues that could make this seat even less predictable.

The candidates are all councillors or former councillors in Cambridge but, as the Returning Officer said, “The shortlisting committee was chosen by the local party and I was happy that it was a balanced one. They drew up the selection criteria and marked the applications independently of each other. We only came together to total the scores, the result of which showed that the 6 shortlisted candidates were well clear of the rest”.

This press release has gone to the local paper giving a mini biog of the six:

Tim Bick

Tim Bick represents the City Centre on Cambridge City Council, having previously led his party on Warwickshire County Council.
An Oxford graduate in Politics and Economics, he has worked on the people side of business for his whole career, abroad for 10 years and, since 2000, with Technology companies locally.

Belinda Brooks-Gordon

Belinda was a mature student at Churchill College and now works an academic at Birkbeck specialising in social policy and criminal justice.
A County Councillor for Cambridge’s Castle Ward, where she has lived for 15 years with her family, her priorities are the environment, social justice, civil liberties.

Rod Cantrill

Rod runs his own financial advisory company, is a city councillor and executive councillor for customer service and resources. He is also a trustee of Wintercomfort for the Homeless.
Rod came to Cambridge to study architecture 25 years ago. He is married to an academic and has two children.

Julian Huppert

I grew up in Cambridge, and have represented the diverse interests of the City; Universities and students, council estates, the knowledge economy.
I am a member of Liberty’s national Council, and a scientist at the Cavendish Laboratory. I was County Councillor for East Chesterton 2001-9, and Lib Dem Group Leader.

Sian Reid

An Executive City Councillor, lives in Cambridge with her family. Having run telecomms companies across Europe, she now teaches management.
As a Councillor she has fought for affordable housing, bus services, and green space. She is passionate about climate change, and has driven down the Council’s carbon emissions.

Julie Smith

Julie Smith is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations in the Politics and International Studies Department at Cambridge University and Fellow of Robinson College.
She is a City Councillor for Newnham and Executive Councillor for Arts and Recreation. She ran the European Programme at Chatham House from 1999 to 2003.

National leaders:
Have too little / far too little influence over the selection process: 26%
Have about the right influence: 58%
Too great / far too great: 5%
No view/ answer: 11%

Regional officers:
Too little / far too little: 21%
About right: 56%
Too great / far too great: 12%
No view/ answer: 12%

Local constituency officers:
Too little / far too little: 8%
About right: 62%
Too great / far too great: 18%
No view/ answer: 12%

Local party members:
Too little / far too little: 6%
About right: 71%
Too great / far too great: 13%
No view/ answer: 10%

Party agents:
Too little / far too little: 17%
About right: 59%
Too great / far too great: 5%
No view/ answer: 19%

I am not aware of similar figures for male candidates, but from personal experience (both as a Returning Officer and helping people with selection campaigns) I would expect a fairly similar picture.

The 22% figure for national leaders having too little influence on selections is higher that I’d have expected, but looking at the comments made by people and the answers to other questions on the approval process it looks to really be the consequence of two other views. First, people who have frustrating experiences of how local parties have run selections – and hence a reaction wishing that other parts of the party got involved to sort things out. Similarly, some people have a very negative view of the selection process. One in five, for example, said their experience of the approval process pre-2007 (i.e. before the most recent reforms) was that it was inefficient and 15% thought it had been not very or not at all democratic.

Second, the question of whether the party’s national leaders have in the past taken enough interest and shown enough lead in trying to improve the gender balance of the Parliamentary Party in Westminster.

Thank you to Serena Hennessy for providing me with access to her survey data gathered for her Masters dissertation at UCL, 2007.

From the South Gloucestershire Gazette:

At the next General Election, to be held in the spring, the existing Northavon constituency is to be divided into two new constituencies, Filton and Bradley Stoke, and Thornbury and Yate.

Cllr Tyzack said: “I am honoured to have been chosen by the party to represent the people in this new constituency for the next General Election. I would like to say thank you for the support that I have already received and the further encouragement since my selection especially from Steve Webb MP.”

The Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency will include Winterbourne, Hambrook, Frenchay, Bradley Stoke, Filton, Patchway, Almondsbury, Severn Beach and Pilning.

Existing Northavon MP, Steve Webb, will stand as the party’s parliamentary candidate for Thornbury and Yate.

• Broadland Norfolk – PPC (04 Dec 2009)
• Huntingdon – PPC (04 Dec 2009)
• Cambridge – PPC (05 Dec 2009)
• Chelsea & Fulham – PPC (09 Dec 2009)
• Chatham & Aylesford – PPC (11 Dec 2009)
• Newcastle-under-Lyme (Staffs) – PPC (12 Dec 2009)
• Dewsbury – PPC (18 Dec 2009)
• Tatton – PPC (23 Dec 2009)

For further details on how you could become the Liberal Democrat prospective candidate in any of these constituencies see http://libdems4parliament.org.uk/events.

Jonathan is an experienced candidate, having fought three General Elections (Chelsea 1983, Orpington 1987 and Leyton 1992) as well as several European Parliamentary elections. He was number 2 in the Liberal Democrat London list this year, but narrowly missed being elected.

Jonathan writes about Poplar and Limehouse on his blog:

It’s an extraodinary seat, illustrating both the huge diversity of London and also the yawning gap between rich and poor.

It also looks like being a right royal battleground at the forthcoming general election, not only because the sitting Labour MP, Farming and Food Minister Jim Fitzpatrick, annoyed the large local Muslim community a while back by walking out of a Muslim wedding because he couldn’t sit next to his wife, but also because ‘Gorgeous’ George Galloway (Respect) is trying to move over from his current perch in neighbouring Bethnal Green and Bow.

So we can expect some vigorous campaigning and lots of media attention.

Jonathan was recently elected Chair of London Region Liberal Democrats and will take office in January 2010.

Liberal Democrat MP David Howarth today announced that he would be standing down from Parliament at the next election to concentrate on his career as an academic.

David Howarth said:

“After nearly 22 years of elected public office, the time has come for me to concentrate on my other life, as an academic. It has been a privilege to serve the people of Cambridge over that time, both in local government and in Parliament.

“I would like to thank the very large number of people who have helped me in politics over the past two decades, and especially those who have worked for me during my time in the Commons.

“I will continue enthusiastically to support the Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg and I wish the party all success in the future. I also look forward to continuing to play a role in the party’s policy making process.”

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:

“David will be sorely missed. His colleagues here in Westminster – across all parties – recognise him as a politician of huge integrity and intellectual ability. The Liberal Democrats have benefited greatly from the powerful lead in Parliament he gave on a number of touchstone liberal issues such as climate change and the right to protest.

“As the leader of Cambridge City Council and a key member of our Federal Policy Committee before being elected an MP David has a long history of helping to shape the party’s policy making.

“I wish him every success in his career in academia. Academia’s gain is very much politics’ loss.”

• Ealing North – PPC  (07 Nov 2009)
• Doncaster Central – PPC, Doncaster North – PPC, Don Valley – PPC (13 Nov 2009)
• Central Devon – PPC (13 Nov 2009)

For further details on how you could become the Liberal Democrat prospective candidate in any of these constituencies see http://libdems4parliament.org.uk/events.

Best of luck with the campaign Mike.

Shepway Liberal Democrats are sorry to announce that Neil Matthews has stepped down as Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone & Hythe due to personal pressures. Neil remains an active part of the Shepway Liberal Democrats and Liberal Democrat Councillor for Hythe West.

In a letter to Party members, Shepway Local Party Chair, Bev Rolfe, paid tribute to Neil’s work and said:

“I’m sorry to announced that the Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone and Hythe, Councillor Neil Matthews, has found it necessary to step down for personal reasons. Although most unfortunate for Neil, he has assured me and the local party executive that he will continue as a District Councillor and an activist within our local party. The added pressure of standing for Parliament is something which, due to his current personal circumstances, he finds himself unable to fulfil.

“Neil’s contribution to the local party over the years, and recently, is very much appreciated. He is a much respected party member and a knowledgeable and hard working local Councillor and, indeed, is viewed with affection by all his colleagues. Neil works very hard for the party and, I have no doubt, will continue to do so.

“Naturally, we will be seeking another candidate as soon as possible. We will update you with more information on this as soon as we have it.

“If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me or one of the other officers whose names, e-mails and telephone numbers can be found on the Shepway Liberal Democrat web site at www.shepwaylibdems.org.uk“

A COUNTY councillor from Tewkesbury has been chosen to represent the Liberal Democrat party in the Cotswolds for the forthcoming general election. Mike Collins, 46, will oppose Cotswold MP Conservative Geoffrey Clifton-Brown who has held the seat for the last 17 years. …

“It’s time for a change, so I pledge to the people of the Cotswolds that I will do my best to represent them in a fair and honest way,” he said.

Andrew will be challenging incumbent Conservative MP, Mark Prisk. Prisk has been the MP for Hertford and Stortford since 2001, but has recently been asked to repay £7,000 of Parliamentary expenses.

Andrew Lewin said,

I share the public’s anger over the expenses episode, it is essential that candidates tackle this issue openly and offer solutions that can rebuild trust in the system. If I were elected as your Liberal Democrat MP, I can confirm that I would not seek a second home in London. I would commute into Westminster alongside the thousands of people that do on a daily basis.

Born and raised in Hertfordshire, Andrew promises to campaign on the economy, education and the environment, and to be involved with the “diverse range” of issues in his local area.