Your questions answered - Week Eight - Equality and Diversity

27.08.10 - Helen Symons

The Labour Party has always prided itself on being the Party of equality and diversity. How will you ensure that Labour’s shadow cabinet and the PLP are representative of women and men? What one thing would you do to make sure that Labour is better connected with and representative of ordinary trade union members?

Diane Abbott:

As Britain’s first black female MP, it is no surprise to me that twenty three years later, I am the first black person to contend the leadership of a political party.

However, I am proud to be running to lead the party that has done more than any other to promote equality and diversity.

I am backed by BAME Labour in my bid to become leader, and with their help, I hope to be able to double the membership of black and ethnic minority Labour Party members in the course of this campaign.

Doing this would change the face of the party forever and make sure our politicians not only look like our voters, but have their interests at heart.

I am in favour of 50/50 ratio for the shadow cabinet.

I was a leading campaigner for all women’s shortlists in the 1980’s when it was not a popular idea. I was also equalities advisor to the former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Because we took positive action on women’s representation, we saw the highest ever number of women MPs’ elected in 1997. The other political parties are still scrambling to keep up, years down the line.

As for the PLP, it is essential that we make similar changes as we would in shadow cabinet.

The one thing that would ensure Labour is better connected with ordinary trade union members is to pick me as your leader.

I have worked as a trade union official and have never been part of the Westminster elite that made decisions without consulting members.

Part of my promise as Labour leader is to listen and act in the interests of members and voters, not of party insiders.

Ed Balls:

Equality is at the centre of Labour’s beliefs. That’s why as part of my contract with the Labour Party in this contest I am proposing a special Diversity Fund to help more under-represented groups – including women, BAME groups, disabled people and those from ordinary backgrounds – to become MPs or Councillors.

As we champion equal pay, improve support for disabled children, tackle homophobic bullying or defeat the racist BNP in the wider society, so we must be determined to ensure equality in our own party.

I support the goal of having half of women in Labour’s shadow cabinet – and in the PLP too. To deliver this we need not only targets and all-women shortlists but a change in culture in our party and in Westminster too.

We have made great progress on equality, thanks to campaigns often led by women in the Labour Party, but Britain remains unequal and we need a stronger voice for the diverse range of women in our Party too, including trade union women.

So to strengthen links between the Labour Party and the union movement I have also said we should extend the £1 youth membership rate to all affiliated union members who haven’t yet joined the party.

You can read more about these issues in my response to the Lead for Women campaign here.

Andy Burnham:

"When we think of the milestones we reached in government the Labour family has a great equality and diversity record to be proud of: the Racial and Religious Hatred Act, the Equalities Act, the first black cabinet minister, the first Muslim minister, the first black woman minister to speak at the Commons dispatch box, Civil Partnerships, gay adoption and the repeal of Section 28.

Now in Opposition we must maintain the momentum we had in government. The party I lead will offer additional training and mentoring for our newly-elected representatives, which is particularly important for young, women and BAME members for whom the support has too often simply not been available. I will also ensure that the proportion of women across Shadow and Government reflects, as a minimum, the proportion of women in the Parliamentary Labour Party. My online manifesto calls for Labour to continue the great progress made with all-women shortlists to ensure there are more women in Parliament and on the Labour benches.

Providing support and listening to our members and those within the Labour family are key to Labour’s future success, to end the disconnection between the Party, its members and supporters. That means closer ties to the trade union movement, not just at the top of the Party, but from constituencies up. Working together, we can be a force for good within our communities and ensure that we never again lose sight of what it means to be Labour."

David Miliband:

I am lucky to be surrounded by a number of strong women in my life: my mother, my wife and my key political advisers. They all tell me the same thing — we need a new kind of politics which promotes and supports women from the grass roots up. Only then will we see change at the top.

I want our parliamentary party to reflect our country – that’s why I want a 50:50 gender balance in the PLP by the next election. To achieve this, I am committed to raising money for a Leadership Academy to provide high quality mentoring and training, bringing in experts from the public and private sector. I would also continue my longstanding support for All Women Shortlists and will aim to increase transparency - at least 50 of the top 100 target seats should be AWS.

As leader I would appoint a Shadow Women’s and Equalities minister and would make sure that the Shadow Cabinet is made up of at least a third women, to reflect the current balance in the PLP.

I want to lead a living breathing Labour movement rooted in workplaces and communities, truly representative of the people we serve and a voice for working people. During the campaign I have trained 1000 future leaders in the techniques of community organising, drawing on the best traditions of the Trade Unions. This is just the start. I am targeting a doubling of the party membership by the next election, including a national drive to recruit trade union levy payers to the party. I am also committed to a democratically elected Party Chair to lead the process of rebuilding our party in workplaces and communities across the country.

Ed Miliband:

The Labour Party has taken huge strides towards achieving equal representation in Parliament – far more than any other party – but there is more still to be done. We have many talented female MPs and it’s time that their talents and skills were fully utilised in Cabinet. That’s why I’ve pledged to ensure that 50% of the cabinet should be women. Having a Cabinet-level Shadow Women’s Minister as a visible and valued champion is essential, as is upporting and encouraging more women to stand for local government – because we need women to be fairly represented at all levels. Labour’s rules on gender representation in local councils are there for a reason and they must be implemented. And we must never again fight a general election with so few women at the front of our campaign.

Our party changed the face of Westminster when so many Labour women were elected in 1997 but we remain far from achieving equal representation, both in our own parliamentary party, and across parliament as a whole. While we strive for the day when All Women Shortlists are no longer needed because women’s voices are heard just as clearly as men’s, I will remain a strong supporter of All Women Shortlists as a practical tool to help us embody our values and tackle inequality.

Trade unions are a cornerstone of a civilised society. Labour’s link with the trade unions allows us to be connected to the lives of millions of working people and provides a key channel of communication between the leadership and the grassroots. We will only be able to organise effectively in opposition, and prepare ourselves for government, by listening to the concerns and aspirations of working people. And it is through the trade unions that we can encourage more people from various backgrounds into politics. One of the things that excites me about this campaign is the opportunity to work with trade unions to help organise the people, to ensure a better deal for working people and to rebuild the party into a force for governing and for transformative good in people’s lives.