Tag Archives: equalities

Lynne Featherstone MP writes… We do not just elect individuals, we elect people to be members of a team

By Lynne Featherstone MP | Published 25th January 2012 - 11:55 am

Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest edition, looking at Parliamentary representation.

Our Parliament has come a long way in recent years. In fact, watching ‘The Iron Lady’ with Margaret Thatcher sticking out like a blue female sore thumb amongst the total male greyness of the then chamber – it reminded me of how recently in history this establishment was nearly all male.

However, despite real progress, it is still nowhere near reflecting the percentage of women in the country – and that is without even starting to talk about …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged diversity, gender balance, leadership programme | 5 Comments

The Lib Dem Candidates Leadership Programme – a participant’s view

By Layla Moran | Published 16th January 2012 - 2:54 pm

Last weekend marked the official start of the Candidate Leadership Programme, with a residential training weekend in Greenwich. For many, this Programme marks an important shift in thinking to improve the diversity of our Parliamentary Party. I write this piece to give a participant’s point of view.

Despite efforts for years to get candidates from diverse backgrounds to become approved, sadly, and not without great effort on behalf of organisations such as the Campaign for Gender Balance (CGB), the result did not show in terms of elected Parliamentarians.

The Leadership Programme is designed to focus on the steps post-approval and selection, to …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged diversity, gender balance, leadership programme | 44 Comments

Evan Harris writes… Lynne Featherstone delivers on Lib Dem equality pledge – a response to Peter Tatchell

By Evan Harris | Published 7th December 2011 - 10:25 am

“It’s a Coalition, innit!”

No one would accuse me – I hope – of a lack of commitment to LGBT equality. Nor would anyone – I fear – of being a cheer-leader for the Government, nor indeed of slavish support for Liberal Democrats in Government. But I can not accept my friend Peter’s criticism of Lynne Featherstone set out in his article. I doubt many readers of Lib Dem Voice would do so either, because his failure to distinguish between “Liberal Democrat policy” and “Government policy” is schoolboy-obvious, and his attack thus falls as flat as a pancake that’s been …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged civil partnerships, gay rights, lynne featherstone, peter tatchell | 15 Comments

The Independent View | Peter Tatchell writes… Lib Dems should stick to their principles and urge Lynne not to renege on equality pledge

By Peter Tatchell | Published 4th December 2011 - 11:45 am

Bravo to the Liberal Democrat party conference. Two years ago, party members voted overwhelmingly to end the twin legal bans on same-sex civil marriages and opposite-sex civil partnerships. They committed a future Lib Dem government to scrap sexual orientation discrimination in marriage and partnership law. Well done. Thank you

Sadly, the Lib Dem Equality Minister, Lynne Featherstone, apparently with the support of the Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, is now actively backing discrimination. She plans to keep unequal laws, contrary to the Lib Dem’s election pledges.

Specifically, Lynne is vowing to retain the prohibition on heterosexual civil …

Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged civil partnerships, gay rights, lynne featherstone, nick clegg | 18 Comments

Opinion: Nick Clegg and Scarman

By Lester Holloway | Published 28th November 2011 - 2:27 pm

We have grown used to politicians approaching the issue of ‘race’ in the context of immigration, crime, or the aftermath of a tragedy.

So it was enormously refreshing to hear Nick Clegg offer up a well-informed speech on the quest for true race equality, without a negative backdrop.

Delivering a Scarman Lecture on the 30th anniversary of the ground-breaking report into the 1981 Brixton riots, Clegg gave arguably the best speech on race equality by a Cabinet minister.

It was Liberal Democracy at its best, bravely shattering the conspiracy of silence on one of the biggest issues of the day – the …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged lord scarman, lynne featherstone, nick clegg | 9 Comments

The Leadership Programme: the first 11

By Mark Pack | Published 29th October 2011 - 4:53 pm

The all-member Liberal Democrat News currently in the post to party members includes this update on the party’s Leadership Programme, designed to support candidates from under-represented groups:

Of the first 11 candidates, five are women, three from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, three have disabilities. There is one LGBT candidate and five of the 11 come from low socio-economic backgrounds … [and] we have four candidates on the Programme so far who are under 30.

The scheme is due to expand to support at least 30 people.

You can get a subscription to receive each weekly edition of Liberal Democrat News here.

Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Also tagged diversity, leadership programme | 2 Comments

Opinion: Tackling the myths about that Scottish Diversity motion

By Caron Lindsay | Published 18th October 2011 - 2:25 pm

I’ve seen a few comments online over the past few days insinuating that the Scottish Liberal Democrats don’t care about improving diversity in the wake of a motion passed at the recent Scottish Conference after a passionate debate and a protracted and complex series of votes.

I want to correct some myths about what happened. Scottish Women Liberal Democrats (SWLD) put forward a motion containing a wide ranging series of measures. Most of these were uncontroversial. Who can argue with making sure that the concerns of women are hardwired into the policy process?

The first main points of contention were over the …

Posted in Op-eds, Scotland | Also tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton, diversity, katy gordon, leadership programme, ruth bright, sophie bridger | 9 Comments

Opinion: Why the Lib Dems need all-women shortlists

By Nat Jester | Published 14th October 2011 - 2:48 pm

In his Lib Dem Voice piece “Too male and too pale” – Why shortlists and the Leadership Programme are not the answer, Paul Head states that he is totally opposed to all-women shortlists (AWS) because they ‘ignore the real problem’ that this reflects in the party as a whole; and that we need to engage more with women and BAME people on a grassroots level and change from below.

This is a sensible argument, and is something that we should strive for. However, I believe that there is a place for AWS in the Liberal Democrats, despite the fact that …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged all-women shortlists, diversity, gender balance, paul head | 48 Comments

The Independent View: Evidence that candidates make a difference

By Jo Silvester | Published 14th October 2011 - 10:23 am

The Liberal Democrats in England took an important step in 2007 when they decided to review the approval process for parliamentary candidates. The aim was to develop a modern system capable of identifying, supporting and developing the best possible political talent in order to ensure the Party could field candidates with the qualities, skills and values needed to build public support and win seats.

Although change can take a long time in politics, four years on it is hard not to be impressed at what the Party has achieved.

Posted in Party policy and internal matters, The Independent View | Also tagged city university, diversity | 3 Comments

Opinion: None shall be enslaved by….maternity?

By Ruth Bright | Published 12th October 2011 - 3:54 pm

Nick Clegg bemoans the maleness and paleness of the Lib Dems and his sense of shame that our parliamentary party is 88% male seems genuine enough.

What is it about the culture of Lib Dems that has brought about this striking gender imbalance?

My own experience as a councillor and candidate is that being a (young, childless, solvent) woman is a huge advantage. When I was approved and selected in 2001 you could almost smell the desperation of the party to promote women. The glass ceiling – what was that?

But then I did what women do and I had children and …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged gender balance, nick clegg | 28 Comments

Can you guess who said what?

By Mark Pack | Published 11th October 2011 - 7:10 pm

Take two people: one a successful female businesswoman and one a male Tory MP.

Then take two public statements: one calling female Cabinet members “an ugly bunch” and “I could not look at them”; the other calling for companies to be better at ending the male dominance of the boardroom.

Who do you think would have said which…?

Posted in News | Also tagged baroness hogg, david cameron, diversity, lynne featherstone, mary portas, vince cable | 5 Comments

Nick Clegg: Lib Dem MPs are ‘too male and too pale’

By Mark Pack | Published 10th October 2011 - 6:06 pm

The Daily Telegraph reports:

The Deputy Prime Minister said he was ‘ashamed’ at the lack of women Lib Dem MPs and their absence from the Coalition cabinet.

“It is a very serious problem,” he told an audience at Cheltenham Literature Festival.

“It is a source of endless shame to me that the Liberal Democrat party I lead, which believes in the diversity of Great Britain in gender and everything else does not represent contemporary Britain in Parliament.

“We are too male and too pale.”

Only seven of the current 57 Lib Dem MPs are female. The Conservatives have 49 women MPs, while Labour have 81.

Earlier

…

Posted in News | Also tagged nick clegg | 1 Comment

Gender balance amongst the Liberal Democrats: some evidence

By Mark Pack | Published 3rd October 2011 - 11:20 am

Over the weekend, Paul Head criticised the party’s Leadership Programme, saying,

While the Candidate Leadership Programme seems like a good idea, giving candidates from underrepresented groups the support and training they need to go on and, hopefully, become MPs, I believe it is destined to failure for the same reasons that shortlists are not the answer.

They both ignore the real problem.

Shortlists in particular are a quick-fix, tinkering round the edges, top-down attempt to create the façade that we are a party that is representative of the whole country. The truth is we aren’t. A quick look around the conference hall and

…

Posted in News | Also tagged diversity, leadership programme, paddy ashdown, paul head | 5 Comments

Opinion: “Too male and too pale” – Why shortlists and the Leadership Programme are not the answer

By Paul Head | Published 1st October 2011 - 11:21 am

The problem of our Parliamentary Party being “too male and too pale” was brought up again at conference and I couldn’t help leaving with the feeling that we are edging towards another fight over whether we should introduce more proactive methods to help combat the chronic under representation of women and ethnic minorities among our MPs.

I was most struck when Paddy Ashdown, during the Guardian debate, seemed to shift from his previously held position and advocate the introduction of shortlists or “zipping” if the current leadership programme failed to make any significant impact.

I am completely opposed to the introduction …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged diversity, leadership programme, paddy ashdown | 18 Comments

“All-Women Shortlists May Be Necessary, Senior Lib Dems Accept”

By Mark Pack | Published 19th September 2011 - 10:23 pm

So reports the Huffington Post:

Senior Liberal Democrats have accepted that the party may need to resort to all-female shortlists or other tough measures to increase the representation of women and minority groups among its MPs…

Tim Farron MP … said that he was “utterly embarrassed” that only seven of the party’s MPs were women.

He said:

“Over the years we’ve had several debates on the crushing lack of women in the House of Commons, and our zero lack of representation from black and ethnic minority communities, and the debates we’ve always had are about the practical way to create equality and the

…

Posted in Conference | Also tagged all-women shortlists, gender balance, paddy ashdown, tim farron | 20 Comments

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