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Harman: Parliament determined to change

CABINET OFFICE News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 12 November 2008

Government Equalities Office news release

HRONIC UNDER-REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN, DISABLED, AND MINORITY ETHNIC PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Harriet Harman, Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for Women and Equality, will today say that for the first time Parliament has acknowledged it is not representative of society, and that it needs to change.

Ms Harman will open a debate in the House of Commons on a motion to establish a Speaker's Conference, which will consider and make recommendations on how to improve representation of women, disabled, and minority ethnic people in the House of Commons, so that it better reflects society. The Government expects the Conference to consider other issues such as Sexual Orientation as part of their discussions. It will operate like a Select Committee and consist of 17 MPs from across the political parties.

Ms Harman is expected to say:
"Society has changed and the House needs to change too. In this country, as women, we regard ourselves as equal citizens now, yet we are not equal in numbers in this House - we are outnumbered by men four to one.

"This country is ethnically diverse now, but out of 646 members only 15 are Black or Asian. To reflect our population we need more than four times more Black and Asian MPs. How are we to convince young Black and Asian men that they are genuinely included in our society when they still see so few Black and Brown faces on our green benches?

"There is a democratic deficit - the missing faces on the green benches are the missing voices in this chamber.

"The House of Commons would have greater public confidence and have more legitimacy if it was more representative of this country as it now is. The Speaker's Conference will be a historic step forward in the drive to bring Parliament into the 21st century."

Women make up only 19.4 per cent of MPs in the House of Commons. This compares with women Members making up nearly half (46.7 per cent) of the Welsh Assembly, and 34.1 per cent of the Scottish Parliament. Black, Asian and Minority ethnic people make up about 10% of the population - but less than 3% of MPs in the House of Commons.

To reflect society, the House of Commons would need:
-More than twice as many white female MPs
-More than twice as many Black, Asian and minority ethnic male MPs
-More than ten times as many BAME female MPs.

To address under-representation in the House of Commons and in public life, the Government is:
- Changing the law to allow political parties to use All Women Shortlists for another five general elections until 2030;
- Going to allow employers and public authorities to take Positive Action to address under-representation via the Equality Bill;
- Encouraging more minority ethnic women to become local councillors with the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Women Councillors taskforce;
- Setting new targets on gender, race and disability in public appointments;
- Giving a stronger diversity remit to the Commissioner for Public Appointments;
- Launched a new diversity programme with the Women's National Commission to make sure women know about public appointments.

The Speaker's Conference will "consider and make recommendations for rectifying the disparity between the representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people in the House of Commons and their representation in the UK population at large. The Conference may also agree to consider other associated matters."

The Conference was requested by the Prime Minister as part of the 'Governance of Britain' agenda. The last Speaker's Conference was in 1977. There have only been five in the last century.

In 1916-17 the Speaker's Conference secured cross-party agreement on the principle that women should have the right to vote. This Conference led to the Representation of the People Act 1918, which extended the right to vote to women over 30 years old.

Notes for editors
* The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the Government's overall strategy, legislation and priorities on equality issues. It was established in July 2007. The Office also has direct responsibility for policy on gender equality, sexual orientation, and for integrating work on race.

About the Speaker's Conference
* The Conference will be chaired by the Speaker and will have 17 other members who will be appointed by the Speaker. One of those members will be appointed by the Speaker to be the vice-chairman.
* The Conference has until the end of the Parliament to conduct its inquiry. It is expected to report its recommendations in 2009.
* A Speaker's Conference has been established from time to time to enable the Government to deal with issues relating to the franchise and electoral law. Like a select committee it meets over a period of weeks or months, and produces a series of recommendations for amendment of the law, or of policy.
* The Conference is set up under the independent leadership of the Speaker to provide a consensus which may command the support of the country as a whole. There were five conferences in the last century, the most recent taking place in 1977-78.
* For further information on the history and practice of the Speaker's Conference: http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/principal/speaker/speakers_conference.cfm