'Stand by your man': Women's political recruitment at the 2010 UK general election

被引:19
作者
Ashe, Jeanette [2 ]
Campbell, Rosie [2 ]
Childs, Sarah [1 ]
Evans, Elizabeth [3 ]
机构
[1] Univ Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TY, Avon, England
[2] Univ London, Sch Polit & Sociol Birkbeck, London WC1E 7HX, England
[3] Kingston Univ, Dept Polit & Int Relat, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, Surrey, England
关键词
women's representation; 2010 general election; political parties; GENDER; QUOTAS;
D O I
10.1057/bp.2010.17
中图分类号
D0 [政治学、政治理论];
学科分类号
0302 ; 030201 ;
摘要
The year 2010 constituted a favourable opportunity for the greater descriptive representation of women in the UK Parliament. The parties were publicly competing over the issue; Parliament had its own Committee looking at it; and there were plenty of vacancies for candidates in each of the parties' held seats, as many more MPs than usual stood down. The outcome was disappointing. There was an overall increase in the number of women MPs - up from 128 to 142 - but this was only a 2.5 per cent increase on 2005. Inter-party differences remain. The Liberal Democrats witnessed a decline in the number and percentage of their women MPs and candidates; the Tories saw a doubling of their number, with women now constituting 16 per cent of their parliamentary party; and Labour has both the largest number and percentage of women MPs. These patterns are best explained by the parties' different attitudes towards equality guarantees - measures that, all other things being equal, return women MPs to Parliament. In other words, Labour's All Women Short lists once again delivered. The other parties' efforts were simply less efficient at translating women candidates into MPs. Looking to the future, the picture is far from rosy. The Coalition's plans for political reform will likely increase competition for selection at the next general election to women's detriment, and the impact of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority raises the possibility that their supply might decrease too. British Politics (2010) 5, 455-480. doi:10.1057/bp.2010.17
引用
收藏
页码:455 / 480
页数:26
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