On Tuesday the new Minister for Women and Equalities opened and ended a one hour debate on the Centenary of Womans Suffrage. The last question she was asked came from the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, Jess Phillips who wanted the Government to amend the Equality Act 2010 to enable political parties to use all women shortlists as one way of increasing the number of women in positions such as elected Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners. Jess had claimed that not any of them were women. Rather than agree to such a radical suggestion, Amber instead pointed out that she knew of at least one PCC who is a woman. The person concerned happens to be the PCC for Sussex where Amber’s constituency is based. As Amber was making her point those present called out the name of the Northumbria PCC to ensure that her response did not appear to be biased in favour of her party. One would have thought that being the Home Secretary, Amber would have managed a few more references than to Katy and reluctantly to Vera Baird. Just to ensure that all get a mention I have included a list of all of the female PCC’s below. The number represents around 20% of PCCs so some way below the proportion of female MPs in the House of Commons but some way above the number of women who are elected Mayors who as Jess suggests are all men.

• Sussex – Katy Bourne
• Avon and Somerset – Sue Mountstevens
• Bedfordshire – Kathryn Holloway
• Devon and Cornwall – Alison Hernandez
• Merseyside – Jane Kennedy
• North Yorkshire – Julia Mulligan
• Northumbria – Vera Baird

Having sat on the same platform for debates with both Vera and Katy, one of my concerns over equalities is how their political parties dominate our democracy meaning that men and women from outside of these two parties stand very little chance of being elected. It is clear that both of them believe passionately in the value of their parties. However that is a different issue to that of universal suffrage which did not arrive in the UK till 1929!