The Labour party has an incredible record on women’s rights. We played a pivotal role in giving women the vote and passing the sex discrimination and equal pay acts. Labour’s all-women shortlists have meant there are now more women MPs in the House of Commons than ever before (43% of Labour, to the Tories’ 21%); more in the Scottish parliament (47% Labour, to 28% SNP) and more in the Welsh Assembly (50% Labour, to 36% Plaid Cymru). A majority of Labour MEPs are women and Scottish Labour members have just elected Kezia Dugdale as their new leader. Even after a terrible election defeat, Labour can still proudly boast more women MPs at Westminster than all the other parties combined.
If we are truly a party of equality, how ironic would it be if we ended up with an all-male leadership team? There are nine people standing in the elections for Labour leader and deputy leader. For the first time ever, a majority are women. With five females standing in two contests, there are 16 possible combinations of leader and deputy leader that involve at least one woman. What sort of message would it send if we still couldn’t elect a woman to one of our leadership positions?
Having women in our leadership is about more than symbolism. Women bring a different experience to politics. My candidature for deputy leader is a case in point. In my mid-20s, I was on my own with two children under two. So I know what it’s like to be on benefits, to worry about money, to need a job, childcare and a secure roof over your head. As a young mum I joined the Workplace Nurseries Campaign, later becoming chair, and we successfully persuaded the Tory government to stop taxing workplace nurseries. When I was elected in 1997, I took that experience into parliament, founding and chairing the first ever all-party childcare group, which paved the way for its first workplace nursery for all staff.
As a Labour grassroots activist and feminist, I supported modernising candidate selections, from one member one vote (OMOV) to all-women shortlists. As a woman from a working-class background, I have no doubt that OMOV helped me to become the first woman in 100 years to be selected in Don Valley.
I originally joined Labour when I was 17, never imagining that I would become an MP. My background as the daughter of a teenage lone parent didn’t mark me out for political office. I’ve never felt entitled and still have to work hard to prove myself. Who I am, coupled with my passion for equality and social mobility, drives me to ensure that Labour looks and sounds like the country we aspire to govern. We need more elected black and minority ethnic (BAME) women, disabled women, LGBT women and working-class women. As deputy leader, I’ll level the playing field for candidates so that money and connections are no advantage in selections.
The best guarantee of progress for women’s rights is having more women elected as councillors, MEPs and MPs and in leadership roles throughout our party.
Ultimately, whether or not we end up with an all-male leadership team is in the hands of Labour party members and supporters. Yet in more than 100 years since its formation, Labour has had women in its leadership for only 10 of those years.
Over what seems like an endless summer, questions about who should and shouldn’t take part in the vote, what clothes make a woman a leader, and the ramifications of two men being voted in have all received ample coverage. But the real question is: will Labour revert to its 90-year all-male tradition or make another small step for equality?
