Labour are using All Women Shortlists to get Party toadies selected

I have long supported the campaign to get more women elected to Public Office including "All Women Short-list because at the rate we are going it will be by the next century that we get to a position when there's something like 50/50 representation in all aspects of public office if ever,

However such an ideal has been damaged by the Labour Party who have used the process to get the sort of candidate who would appeal to those who live in that mythical constituency  of Middle England".

The Wasting Mule report that

"The daughter of a famous US-based comedian is running to be selected as the Labour candidate to fight the 2015 general election in the party stronghold of Neath.Mabel McKeown, who lives in London, is one of three women in the selection battle to be Labour parliamentary candidate in the constituency.But Neath MP and veteran campaigner Peter Hain, who is standing down, has denied claims on a political blog that he has “stitched up” the seat for Ms McKeown".

She is running against Karen Wilkie, deputy general secretary of the Co-Operative Party and last year’s chair of Welsh Labour, and Christina Rees, a Bridgend councillor and ex-wife of former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies. Ms Rees ran on the Labour list European election ,

It is odd that Labour who are so powerful in Neath can't find a Women of Quality amongst their ranks but then it would be doubtful that they could find a man  there as well.

The 1997 general election saw more women elected to the House of Commons than ever - 120, exactly double the 60 elected at the 1992 general election. 101 of these women MPs were Labour Party politicians. There were also 13Conservatives, three Liberal Democrats, and three from other parties (including Speaker Betty Boothroyd, previously a Labour politician).

 Like many on that night after years of Thatcherism there was a clear hope that we were entering a New dawn of progressive politics and with so many Women in the new government it would be more caring.

Images of the new Prime Minister Tony Blair with 96 female Labour MPs on the steps of Church House in Westminster, were widely publicised, giving rise to the rather misogynist term Blair Babes.


It son became clear that the new female members were as much of the party machine as the men . Loyal to Blair enthusiastically backing Blairs Middle Eat policy and making no attempt to roll back even the worst excesses of Thatcherism.

That in itself is not a reason to oppose All Women Shortlist " As we saw with Stephen Kinnock in Aberavon men are still being parachuted into safe Labour seats .Men who are all oart of the TEd Tory agenda.

All Women Shortlists just make  it easier for the hierarchy of the Party to control selection of compliant candidates and wed out any who might have some flame of socialism in his or her heart.

And in Wales make dam sure none of them would ever consider putting the needs of Wales First . Of course to me the two are the same)

How many Women or Men in Scotland have been parachuted into safe Labour seats from outside that Nation.?

Plaid have two candidates in winnable seats who were born and raised in England but who have been part of their intended constituency  for years  to such an extent they are as indistinguishable from those who have lived there all their lives.

Labour needs to look for candidates who are connected to their constituency . By all means via All Women Shortlist but not use it as a Trojan Horse to get candidate who suits the Leadership but maybe not the people they seek to represent.