The Liberal Democrats are too “male and pale”, the party’s leader, Nick Clegg, has admitted, adding that larger parties could put female candidates in seats as “consolation prizes”.
“Our parliamentary party is too male and pale,” he said. “If we want to represent modern Britain, we have to have modern Britain represented in us.”
The deputy prime minister made the comments in an interview with BBC Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour, which covered topics ranging from maternity leave to VAT on sanitary products.
He said it was harder for the Lib Dems, being a smaller party, to improve the diversity of their candidates: “Now, this is going to sound like excuses, it’s not. One of the challenges we have as a party, unlike the two larger parties, is they can kind of disperse constituencies and candidacies for winnable seats a bit like consolation prizes around to candidates.
“We can’t do that because we’ve always had to painstakingly work year in, year out before people even win elections.”
Clegg said that of the 10 candidates standing in seats where Lib Dem MPs are standing down, five were women. He added that the party also needed to make sure that candidates from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and candidates with disabilities were given financial support and mentoring “to help to make sure they sort of cross the line”.
The Lib Dems have seven female MPs out of a total of 56, but none in the cabinet. Clegg has previously said he would consider introducing all-women shortlists in the runup to the 2020 election if not enough women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds were selected in winnable seats.
