Lib Dems call for more women in Parliament

The Liberal Democrats today reached out to female voters as they launched their manifesto for women.

Baroness Shirley Williams said there should be more women and minorities in parliament for it to be truly representative of the nation.

Opening the party’s central London press conference, she said: ‘‘This has not been a very good election for women. By and large issues and concerns have not been as fully addressed by Labour and the Conservatives as they should have been.

‘‘There will be fewer women MPs in the next Parliament than there are now. Seven Labour women MPs are standing down, some of them quite young, the reason being the old fashioned nature of the House of Commons makes it almost impossible for them to maintain their family responsibilities and responsibilities as politicians. This tells us quite a lot about priorities.’’

Lady Williams said fairer representation at Westminster would ensure that the issues that most affect women are not forgotten.

She said: ‘‘Wherever fair voting takes place in democracy like Germany, Scandinavia, the European Parliament and Scotland, women are much better represented than in the creaking and obsolete first-past-the-post system.’’

Calling for fair voting systems, she said it was ‘‘high time’’ for Westminster to catch up with Edinburgh, Brussels and the modern world.

‘‘Nationally and internationally, the face of poverty is the face of a woman,’’ she went on.

‘‘Inequality in pay, deplorable levels of basic pension and the problems of women’s dual responsibilities for work and family show how far we still have to go. The majority at the receiving end are always women,’’ she added.