The Women's Local Government Society (WLGS) welcomes the establishment of the Speaker's Conference to: "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." Please find enclosed a short submission. This consists of a summary including some information about our organisation followed by more detailed views.

  At this stage WLGS do not wish to give oral evidence. However we note that the Speaker's Conference is empowered to consider other associated matters. We consider there is a strong association between the nature of elected representation at a local level and that of representation in Parliament. If at any stage the Speaker's Conference does consider making recommendations of direct relevance to levels of representation of women in local government we would welcome the opportunity to contribute further.

  The attached evidence has been considered by our management committee, and builds on views of the wider membership as expressed through our meetings and networking. We are happy for the information to be made public

ABOUT THE WOMEN'S LOCAL GOVERNMENT SOCIETY.

  Women's Local Government Society (WLGS) was active from the late 1880's until the mid 1920's campaigning and supporting the representation of women as elected members throughout local government. Their lobbying resulted in the 1907 Qualification of Women (County and Borough Council's) Act, which allowed some women to stand as candidates for County, County Borough and London councils. The Women's Local Government Society was revived in 2007, recognising that in the 100 years since that Act, equal representation of women in Local Government had not been achieved. As with its predecessor, WLGS has membership from all three main political parties and those without political allegiance. It is supported by three presidents in the House of Lords who reflect that cross-party approach.

  The aims of the revived Women's Local Society relevant to the Speaker's Conference are:

— To raise the profile of past, present and future achievements of elected women in Local Government.

— To secure a greater representation of elected Women in Local Government in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through positive action, promotion, support, mentoring and lobbying.

— To encourage the return of real power to women in their local communities through elected local governance and to support the development of meaningful local democracy

The scope of our evidence.

  The evidence we submit relates specifically to the representation of women, building on the three aims above. There is both a direct relationship between representation at a national and local level, at common causes of under-representation. We also suggests that part of the solution may lie in devolving appropriate activity from Parliament to a community level, where a greater number of individuals can participate more fully in the process of government. A comprehensive approach to tackle the practical and cultural causes of under-representation of women in all spheres of government will also break down some barriers to the representation of other under-represented groups.

  We have not tried to answer all the question set out in your request for evidence, as others experts will no doubt focus on the problems caused by under-representation and the relationship with attitudes to voting.

  You ask what actions have been taken to address similar concerns. In submitting evidence, we have been informed by a number of surveys and publications, and by the experiences of our members. We consider in particular the Speaker's Conference could and should revisit the findings of the Councillors Commission "Representing the Future", published 10th December 2007.

(http://www.communities.gov.uk/councillorscommission/publications/representingthefuture/).

  The chair of that Commission, Dame Jane Roberts, stated in her foreword that: "There is inevitably no one magic bullet that will encourage more able, talented and representative people to become councillors and for the work of councillors to be better recognised and valued". That principle, we consider, relates also to membership of the House of Commons.

Summary of our evidence.

— Throughout recent history, women who achieved as local councillors went on to achieve as members of both Houses of Parliament. We can all learn from their example and build on their experiences. Women need good role models, and failure to disseminate positive pictures of successful women politicians past and present serves to both strengthen and perpetuate the reality of under-representation.

— The reasons more women are not involved in political activity at both a national and a local level are both practical and cultural. We accept political parties and others need to address cultural barriers inherent in selection processes. However, those processes will only attract a wider variety of candidates from a larger pool if practical issues are also addressed. For the MP, needing to split activity between Westminster and the constituency, those practical constraints can make life impossible. Disparity in Parliamentary representation can only be achieved if Parliamentary life adapts to suit the needs of those it seeks to involve.

— Devolution would increase the involvement of the wider community in decision taking, strengthen the role of local councillors who share the experiences of their communities on a day-to-day basis and lessen the burden on the Parliamentary system. It could therefore contribute to tackling issues of representation at a range of levels.

  Because the issues underpinning representation are wide ranging, we believe the findings of the Speaker's Conference should be too. Previous Speaker's Conferences have heralded significant milestones in the participation of women in the democratic process. We hope this conference follows suit.

The relationship between local and national representation

  Throughout recent history, women who achieved as local councillors went on to achieve as members of both Houses of Parliament. We can all learn from their example and build on their experiences. Women need good role models, and failure to disseminate positive pictures of successful women politicians past and present serves to both strengthen and perpetuate the reality of under-representation.

  1.1.  A limited number of women were able to stand for local elected office from 1907. When women gained the right to stand for Parliament from 1918 a small number already had experience as local councillors. Dr Ethel Bentham, Dr Marion Phillips and Susan Lawrence are examples of early women MP's who benefited from local government experience. That trend continued, with well known names like Dr Edith Sumerskill and Barbara Castle being elected local representatives.

  1.2.  The 1997 intake brought about the biggest single increase of women in Parliament, almost doubling numbers to 120. A significant proportion of the women elected at that time had experience as councillors. We estimate this to be almost 50%. It is interesting that this increase follows on from a period when the representation of women at a local level had improved significantly. Work by local election experts based at Plymouth University found there was an increase from the early 1970's "with a particularly rapid increase in the second half of the 1980s, and that all parties recruited an increasing number of women candidates in the period."[168] There are several explanations for both increases. Not unconnected was the positive focus given to issues of concern to women in that period through local women's committees and units.

  1.3.  More balanced representation in local government should therefore help improve the representation of women in Central Government. We welcome the consideration given to the findings of the Councillor's Commission, and in particular the potential implementation of one aspect of this currently being considered by Parliament as part of the "Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill"—namely content of Part One, Chapter One of that Bill, the "Duties Relating to the Promotion of Democracy".

  1.4.  In our view the best mechanisms for implementing the duty promote democracy will require a systematic approach already being established in other areas of public life through the introduction of the introduction of the Gender Equality Duty as established by the 2006 Single Equality Act.

  As part of the development of a duty to promote democracy, we would therefore wish to see local authorities undertaking audits of gender, age and ethnic representation at a local level, considering the impact, setting objectives, promoting good practice and then monitoring and reviewing outcomes.

  1.5.  Parliament has a role to play in promoting positive images of Local Government, and that should include promoting positive and non-stereotypical images of local elected representatives. Ministers can contribute on a practical day to day basis, perhaps requesting the presence of newly elected or a cross party representative group of councillors on visits, or arranging discussions on topics of relevance to a specific locality with diverse groups of councillors.

  1.6.  Informal activity between Members of Parliament and their local elected representatives takes place at a variety of levels. Some of that activity could be formalised and given Parliamentary support. Surveys have established that women are more likely to stand for local government if they are invited to do so. Women members of Parliament are well placed to provide mentoring, support and encouragement to potential local government candidates. Many do so already, but practical support, training and encouragement from a cross-party source may help, and would be especially beneficial if MP's were encouraged to help recruit and mentor local government candidates from under-represented groups.

  1.7.  WLGS has identified a real need to improve the images of elected representatives in those publications most commonly read by younger women and women from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Networking sites and Blog diaries have increased the ability of elected representatives to communicate with a wider audience, and given women MPs in particular the opportunity to illustrate their need to mesh domestic life with their Parliamentary one. Councillors have benefited when common facilities or systems have been developed to support their use of technology. Some Local Authority PR departments also make a point of promoting women councillors in local publications. Parliament could benefit from a more proactive PR role, and one that develops the use of technology. Promoting the work of non-ministerial MP's, their daily lives, their backgrounds and the routes by which they entered Parliament should be the responsibility of a specific and dedicated team of civil servants.

  1.8.  Current women MP's could be encouraged to discuss their routes into office more generally, but there is also a role for Government in helping disseminate and encouraging discussion of the life experiences of early women pioneers, and those who have left Parliament more recently. Because of the timing of equal franchise legislation (and we would argue as a direct result), many of the early women MP's were involved in developing community provision that is still vital to women today—the shape of our education and health services, the design of housing. Equally vital, and more recently, women have played crucial roles in peace initiatives such as that in Northern Ireland. Their stories should be an integral part of all aspects of education, from the formal school syllabus to museum content.

  The Speaker's Conference should consider a range of practical measure to encourage the promotion of past and present elected representatives, local and national as role models for future generations. Parliament should recognise and value Local Government as a means of encouraging democratic participation.

2.  The cultural and practical barriers to representation

  The reasons more women are not involved in political activity at both a national and a local level are both practical and cultural. We accept political parties and others need to address cultural barriers inherent in selection processes. However, those processes will only attract a wider variety of candidates from a larger pool if practical issues are also addressed. For the MP, needing to split activity between Westminster and the constituency, those practical constraints can make life impossible. Disparity in Parliamentary representation can only be achieved if Parliamentary life adapts to suit the needs of those it seeks to involve.

  2.1.  The Councillors Commission has already undertaken a valuable and detailed research into the incentives and barriers that encourage or deter people from standing for election at a local level. We consider here both the issues they identified which we consider of relevance and some of the potential solutions. In doing so, we have been selective, looking particularly at those issues of most relevance to women. As stated in our summary, we consider all members of the Speaker's Conference would find it useful to visit this recent piece of work, Representing the Future.

  2.2.  The Councillors Commission report did discuss organisational culture. In doing so it highlighted the reducing membership of those political organisations that act as gate-posts to political representation, and to their often "club-like" atmosphere. As an organisation with membership from all three main political parties we recognise the cultural picture collected by the Commission. We have had examples presented to us at seminars and on an informal level of how those cultural attitudes in political parties impact on the participation of women, both in formal selection processes and informally, including attitudes to women once elected. The Speaker's Conference would also do well to re-iterate that in terms of gender at least, the electors themselves do not appear to be a barrier to effective representation.

  At a Parliamentary level, we consider tackling the formal and informal culture of selection will be central to the success of the Speaker's Conference.

  2.3.  Although we recognise "selection culture" is important, from our perspective looking at the more frequent and numerous local selection mechanisms we do not consider political parties should be held fully responsible, or able independently to put matters right. It has to be recognised that at a local level political parties are primarily volunteers, have little training or practical support, and often have numerous other jobs to do (including, very often, being a local councillor). We have some disappointment at those responses to the report of the councillors commission that charged local political parties with increasing and diversifying their membership base without identifying how resources and support could enable them to do so.

  We would suggest any recommendations of the Speaker's Conference directed at political parties should look again at how local political activity can best be funded and supported.

  2.4.  As the Councillors Commission and our own organisation have identified, the culture of an organisation can also be a barrier to membership. For women, we consider this to be far more relevant to Parliamentary representation than to local representation. The image, and to some extent the reality of Parliamentary life is still dominated by the "ya-booh" politics that characterises the cross chamber exchanges at the despatch box. For many women, including some women who have chosen to take part in local elected political office this image is very counter productive. The Speaker clearly has a direct role to play in curbing the worst excesses of this behaviour, but individuals may also need to review, and structures do not help.

  2.5.  Coupled with the point above, Parliament could consider how far it can take a more positive image of other aspects its work to the community. We welcome recent Cabinet meetings in other settings, but more meaningful would be a concerted effort to take the work of the select committees to other locations, with local authorities assisting in ensuring some evidence presented has local community input.

  2.6.  There are other area where Central Government could learn a great deal from local government in improving public perception of their work—requirements to publicise cabinet agendas and minutes being just one example. For women however, the greatest practical barrier to becoming an MP must be the time factor. Although some steps have been taken to improve these aspects, we suspect from local government experience more will need to be done.

  2.7.  Some structural aspects of Parliament itself limit the ability to achieve a more representative democracy. WLGS has not taken a view on proportional representation or voting/ candidacy age, and no doubt evidence from others will be substantial. However there is one aspect of structure has concerned us, and that is the size and nature of the ward or constituency. We are disappointed that recommendation 19 of the Councillors Commission report, favouring multi-member wards for local councillors has not been adopted, and particularly that it is being wholly ignored in the development of new Unitary Local Government. Whilst we recognise that the re-introduction of multi-member constituencies for MPs is a significantly greater step for Central Government than Local Government, we concur with the view of the Councillors Commission that:

"single member wards provide a strong incentive for political parties to select the sitting member, or someone who resembles a retiring member. With multi-member wards there is an incentive for the parties to maximise their appeal to voters by fielding a more diverse range of candidates; this increases the likelihood of people from under represented groups being selected. Multimember wards also offer councillors the possibility of balancing their skills across the ward or division, possibly to some degree specialising and the chance of reducing time pressures by sharing the work."[169]

  If Parliamentary life is to appeal to women, the Speaker's Conference will need to consider some bold options about the culture, structure and practical working arrangements of the organisation, and above all tackle the image of "ya-booh politics".

3.  A greater devolution of responsibilities.

  Devolution would increase the involvement of the wider community in decision taking, strengthen the role of local councillors who share the experiences of their communities on a day-to-day basis and lessen the burden on the Parliamentary system. It could therefore contribute to tackling issues of representation at a range of levels.

  3.1.  A report sponsored by the Local Government Association and released today compares English local government with others on an international basis and highlights the extremely centralised nature of the current central—local balance. It identifies key functions where responsibilities could be transferred, including "skills, employment, infrastructure and economic development."[170] For women, we consider the issue of where decisions are taken to be a vital one. It is a sentiment expressed well by one of our presidents, Baroness Patricia Hollis, when speaking at our inaugural meeting. She said: "If more women are to enter politics, then surely we should take power to them, into the locality, rather than just seek to bring women to where power currently resides, Westminster, though we need that too. Devolving more power to local government would both strengthen local government and strengthen women's participation in politics."[171]

  3.2.  The pressure on Parliamentary time and thus the efficiency of Members of Parliament has been well documented, and improvements made partly through the work of the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons. It is also recognised that devolving responsibility to a local level is "work in progress", and our suggestions are not new. The dimension we consider could be added by attention to this issue by the speaker's conference is in developing a firm constitutional relationship between central and local government as a basis for a co-ordinated programme of devolution, designed specifically to ensure local communities are involved in decision making through their local council.

  3.3.  Previous Speaker's Conferences have resulted in significant change to the nature of Government as a whole. It is our belief that all women would benefit from a new vision for government at all levels, which allows the greatest possible participation. Our predecessors demonstrated that women were not "too hysterical"[172] to participate in decision making at a local level. This Speaker's Conference can give women a real opportunity to participate in politics in a meaningful way, encouraging more interest in the House of Commons as s result.

  A new constitutional settlement which recognises the potential of enhanced participation through more localised decision taking should be at the core of a visionary outcome for this valuable Speaker's Conference.

169   Representing the future-The report of the Councillors Commission-December 2007 P42. Back

170   Local Government Association and Localis, With a Little Help From our Friends, International Lessons for English Local Government, 2009 http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/aio/1542751 p50. Back

171   http://www.womeninlocalgovernment.org.uk/files/070310%20patricia%20hollis%20speech.pdf Back

172   The learned Earl of Halsbury, 12 June 1907, Hansard col 1355. Back