Women in politics

I'm nearing the end of another crazily busy week.

It started on Monday with a trip up to the Institute of Local Government based at Birmingham University where I was invited to give a talk to councillors from across the UK on "Chairing scrutiny".

It's hard to believe that a year ago I attended the same course as a delegate having only just taken over the chair of HHCC Scrutiny Panel in Reading.

The talk went well - I even managed to get a few laughs. According to the course organiser I left the attendees with the impression that I was "very single-minded and knew how to get things done".

Can't complain about that, really.

As my friends can testify I can talk until the cows come home on the importance of effective scrutiny.

Without it how can we be sure that taxpayer's money is being spent wisely and effectively by the people in power? It's just as important at a local level as it is at a national level.

For years in Reading scrutiny was an afterthought and one party (Labour) dominated everything - even the committees which were supposed to provide a check and balance on what the Executive did.

I think things are a lot healthier on the Council now but we still have a long way to go to improve accountability and transparency around the way some decisions are made.

Anyway, my second speaking engagement of the week was yesterday evening where I was invited by Reading University Lib Dem Society to join a distinguished panel including Susan Kramer - Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park and Baroness Thomas of Walliswood - an eminent Lib Dem Life Peer.

We were there to discuss women in politics but ended up spending a lot time talking about how we could get more women involved in politics and get in to the position where they can get elected.

The current stats are shocking and worth repeating:

• Only 19% of MPs are women
• Britain lags behind Afghanistan, Australia, Rwanda, Belarus, Pakistan, New Zealand and 27 other European states (in terms of the number of women MPs we have)
• There are only two Black women MPs, and there has never been an Asian woman MP
• 30% of councillors are women (2008 Councillors Census)
• There are currently even fewer Black/minority ethnic women councillors

We are not complacent either as a Party nationally or here in Reading: we know we still have a long way to go until we reach genuine equality.

A female campaigner writing in The Guardian last year said:

"For more than a quarter of a century, the political parties have said, repetitively and routinely, that they want to increase the number of female MPs. Party leaders have simply not delivered the goods. There is still only one woman in every five MPs."

In the debate, Susan Kramer and Susan Thomas both argued strongly in favour of positive discrimination.

Not a very fashionable view in any political party at the moment.

When David Cameron said recently that he planned to impose all-women shortlists to get more Conservative women MPs elected he was roundly attacked by many of his own Party members.

I have always been instinctively against all-woman shortlists.

Having been educated in a single-sex state school in inner London I was brought up to be suspicious of privilege. I felt strongly that I didn't need a leg up or preferential treatment.

I want to get on in life through my own hard work not special favours.

Having said that I recognise that being middle-class has helped a lot: I was lucky in that I could afford to go to University and I have had a very supportive family.

I think most people would like to see people get selected to stand for Parliament on merit not because of who they are -  in an ideal world.

Sadly we are not in an ideal world and we need to seriously  look at ways to get more women and Black, minority ethnic candidates involved in politics - at all levels.

As Susan Kramer said, on the current rate of progress we will not end up with many more women MPs this century.

And as Lynne Featherstone MP recently said paraphrasing Obama "idle aspiration is not enough".

Lynne is an outstanding campaigner for greater equality. Read her recent speech here.

Equality is an important end in itself but I also think a more equal Parliament this would lead to better decision-making and a more appealing political culture: better all round.

At a local level women councillors are still in a minority.

This is despite the fact many women have the perfect set of skills to be really effective councillors.

I find when I talk to women who I think would make amazing candidates they often put themselves down and say they don't think they'll be good enough.

I tell them they should come a long to a few council meetings and they would soon see they could easily do a better job them some councillors who've been around for years.

Sadly many women decide the very last thing they want to do is go into politics.

And you can't really blame them when you see what constitutes debate at some council meetings.

Just watch Prime Ministers Question time (which isn't that different to full Council except it features celebrities)

This week involved David Cameron and Gordon Brown tearing strips off each other.

What a turn-off.

As Kevin Maguire said, writing in The Mirror:

"Viewing Prime Minister's Questions on TV, hundreds of miles from Westminster (in my case South Shields), is to be reminded of what a turn off the jeering and cheering ritual is for most voters.

Quite frankly it's embarrassing, otherwise sane adults behaving badly for half an hour."

But there are other, more basic barriers which are preventing women getting selected or elected.

Like time and money.

As the recent Lib Dem 'Real Women' Policy Paper recognised a lack of work-life balance and basic financial problems need to be addressed if women are going to get real power over their lives.

Politics is time-consuming and the allowances at a local level in most cases are not enough to live  on unless you are independently wealthy or have a job.

For some women on low-incomes becoming politically active is just not an option.

Getting elected takes hours of knocking on doors and once you win the work really starts.

I regularly spend hours every week on casework and going to meetings. I don't mind - it's all part of the job.

But not everyone has the luxury of time to spend on politics and campaigning the way I do.

I have no idea how I would balance my current workload with a young family.

I think women MPs and councillors who manage to juggle both should be applauded not attacked for being bad mothers.

Anyway, lots of female (and male) students came to listen and participate in the debate, which was great.

I hope we were able to inspire a few people to give politics a try. I know of at least one man who said he was inspired by it. Because it's not who you are but what you can offer people, that counts.

I talked a bit about my experience and the reason I love being a councillor.

I said that 90% of my time is not spent making speeches but listening to people's problems, getting things done to improve the local area, and working to try and find solutions.

I also said my top tip for aspiring politicians was not necessarily to do a politics degree (as I did - complete waste of time!) but to do everyday things where you get to meet people.

I found working in a pub when I was a student gave me a great grounding for politics - you have to listen to a lot of problems if you work behind a bar! You also have to learn not to be too judgemental and to try and understand people.

But It hasn't all been plain sailing.

When I was elected a female former Labour councillor attacked me in the local press for combining my council duties with a full-time job.

Ironically a few years later I was regularly winning plaudits for being one of Reading's hardest working councillors.

I soon got used to ignoring the patronising remarks that some older councillors (of both sexes) made to me at meetings and functions.

One of my favourites was from a male councillor (who shall remain nameless to protect his identity) who said:

"When I first met you I thought you looked pretty clueless. But when you started speaking I realised you were actually really intelligent and you knew what you were talking about."

I took a deep breath and thought to myself: well, the difference between you and me is - you look stupid...and you actually are pretty stupid.

I can't imagine he would have dared say something like that to a male councillor.

Still, I do laugh when I look back at one of the headlines that was printed in the Evening Post when I was elected:

"Daisy set to be assertive on Council"

It annoyed me at the time but now I feel it was quite an accurate description.

But I'm not going to stop there. Now I've got my foot in the door right at the bottom of the political ladder I I am keen to help other people get involved in politics in Reading at whatever level they feel comfortable - regardless of class, race, wealth or gender.

Research has shown time and again that many people need to be asked to stand for election - that you cannot rely on people putting themselves forward. You have to belive in them and build their confidence.

So to anyone reading this - man or woman -  who is considering getting involved in politics let me say this:

Join a political party (ideally the Lib Dems!). Get involved, stand for election to something what's the worst that can happen? You never know you might enjoy it and you might even turn out to be quite good!

And don't sit at home wishing we lived in a perfect world. It ain't gonna happen.