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Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Tony Lloyd (Labour). It was answered by Meg Munn (Labour) on Thursday, 18 January 2007 on behalf of the Minister for Women.


Electoral Politics

Question
What steps she is taking to encourage greater participation in electoral politics among those groups of people with lower-than-average levels of participation.
Answer

The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 allowed positive measures to be taken to increase women’s participation. For instance, it enabled the use of quotas in local elections to increase the level of female representation. Currently, women make up 29 per cent. of councillors in England, and 19.5 per cent. of MPs. Additionally, the local government White Paper set out a commitment to review the barriers and incentives to becoming a councillor. That review will also consider the challenges facing under-represented groups.


Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
455 c916 
116357 
Session
2006-07
Oral question type
Lead
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Women Elections Local government Voting behaviour
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk