to think 44 years after the conservatives elected a female leader labour should as well

[lakemountain]

and 40 years since the general population did this proves conservatives are not sexist the general population is not sexist but the labour party is

Im sure there are sexists in all parties. Labour seem just less inclined to at least make a pretence at equality.

I don't care about having a female leader, particularly. I care about the class/gender/ethnicity balance in the MPs of a party, and I care whether the policies of the party help produce a more equal society.

I care about having the most capable candidate. I don't care what sex they are.

Definately. We need to specifically choose a black or Asian woman with ADHD to ensure we maximise equal opportunities.

I care about having the most capable candidate. I don't care what sex they are.

Yy. It's v depressing that Rebecca Long-Bailey is being suggested as the heir to Corbyn. Her only qualification for the job is that she will do whatever McDonnell and McCluskey tell her to do. And I've a nasty feeling that Dawn Butler is being lined up as a contender, too. Can't think of any other reason why she's always sitting next to Corbyn, full-square in camera shot, at PMQs.

Not having a female leader doesn't make the party sexist.

I personally think the Labour party currently has more female talent than male and if a leadership contest was called I would expect there to be a.good field of female candidates. If there were not or if there was any suggestion of sexism in the campaign or publicity then this would be very serious.

In reality though as the leader would be voted for by the membership it would be difficult to blame the PLP if a female was not elected.

@FreeFreesia

I'm sure there are sexists in all parties. Labour seem just less inclined to at least make a pretence at equality

It's an interesting and false claim. See statistics below.

MP data from 2017 election
Labour MPs 48%female 13%BME 8%LGBT
Con MPs 22%female 6%BME 6%LGBT

I know who I feel more accurately represents the general public and I know who I would trust to listen to me as a woman.

After thatcher and may, i can see why they wouldnt. The most hated and the most useless pms in living memory

Normally leaders are elected because they are deemed fit to run their party and the country by a majority democratic election.
Not by gender.

TBH at this stage I’d settle for any other leader, That said, if Yvette Cooper threw her hat into the ring I’d be happy. She’s hugely capable.

labour should as well

YANBU

this proves conservatives are not sexist the general population is not sexist

yeah, YABU there I’m afraid.

I couldn't care less if the party leaders were male, female, LGBT or identified as a dalek as long as they could be decent, honest and able to get the job done.

Barbara Castle was the best PM we never had. Yvette Cooper would be better than any of the numpties we have now. Sometimes shit rises to the top and the good stuff gets pushed down.

Any new leader would be preferable to Cornyn. I don’t care if they’re male, female or even human.

People really took against Harriet Harman, she'd have been a good PM imv. I'm not too sure what it was she did wrong except be a strong woman.

Dianne?

Mind you people are very hard on Amanda Rudd and Esther McVey is Mrs evil according to the press. But she was landed with the bedroom tax and implementing the reduction in benefit payments, I suspect the women get the hard jobs.

I think it’s incredibly poor that labour haven’t elected a female leader, especially as there have been very qualified and capable candidates (like Yvette Cooper). That said, the gender of a party’s leader is far from the most useful metric by which to measure how sexist their are. The conservatives have succeeded in selecting a female leader, but their policies are significantly more harmful to women and that’s far more important in my opinion.

I don’t necessarily think we must have a female leader but it’s always interested me how female leaders are more likely to come out of the right wing rather than the left.

I have a theory that it’s because left-wing+female is perceived as a step too far and stinks of feminism which, let’s face it, the public hate.

But if a female leader manages to prove herself to be ruthless, right wing and with conservative credentials the voting public don’t feel threatened by the prospect of too much change.

You see examples of this way of thinking on the internet all the time. If a female vlogger for example is vociferously alt-right she is allowed to exist. If she’s left wing, and worse feminist, she’s torn to shreds.

As others have said, labour has produced women more than capable of the job. Yet they’ve never been chosen and yes, that does say a great deal about labour. As does the fact that they could chuck A Campbell out the instant he said he voted LD, but take months if not years to deal with clear cases of anti semitism (indeed some of the perpetrators get parliamentary seats).
Labour stinks of shit.

I just want them to have someone, anyone, in charge who is remotely capable of providing an effective opposition and who might actually be electable.

I agree but bullshit are the tories not sexist. It’s the definition of an old boys club.

this proves conservatives are not sexist

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Yeh the conservatives have done absolutely loads for women

Especially our Teresa, she was great.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-fails-womens-refuges-will-not-close-funding-overhaul-a8246421.html

Have there been any female conservatives leaders who haven’t been PM clearing up a massive pile of shit?

The conservatives only get a female leader when they need a woman to tidy up for them.