Nick Clegg has said his own party is “too male and too pale” to represent Britain properly. Urgent action was needed to boost the number of female and non-white Lib Dem MPs, the party leader told its spring conference in Sheffield.
If a proposal on diversity passes today, it will be the first time that the party has supported positive discrimination — with reserved places for women, ethnic minorities and disabled people on a limited list of “approved candidates”.
This week the Hansard Society, which campaigns for greater public engagement with Parliament, condemned the lack of women in the coalition, revealing that out of 184 cabinet committee and sub-committee seats, only 32 are occupied by women.
Mr Clegg also called on his party to hold its nerve, with 10,000 protesters expected in Sheffield this weekend. He said he knew it was hard for members, whose “proudest moments” had been on marches against climate change, child detention and Iraq, to be the target of such anger. But he added: “We’ve put down the placards and taken up the reins of power . . . With power comes protest. We need to get used to it.”
The Lib Dem leader also replied to critics of the alternative vote. Yesterday 26 historians wrote to The Times warning that it would destroy “one man, one woman — one vote”, the principle on which British democracy was built.
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Mr Clegg said AV was a chance to “end the unfairness of safe seats for life, to fix politics after the expenses scandal, to make MPs work harder, to make votes count”. He said it was the system used to elect the Mayor of London, the Australian Government, the Labour leader — and to choose Colin Firth for an Oscar. The Deputy Prime Minister made the point about the lack of representation of women and ethnic minorities by reading out a list of Lib Dem ministers, including Sarah Teather and Lynne Featherstone.
“Did you notice something about that list? There are only two women on it,” he said. “We have some exceptional women in Parliament . . . but we don’t have enough. I wish I could tell you about the great work of our ethnic minority MPs, but I can’t. We don’t have any. Our party is too male and too pale. If we want to represent modern Britain, modern Britain must be represented in us.”
Mr Clegg proposed a list with 50 per cent of places for women, 20 per cent for ethnic minorities and 10 for disabled people. Despite protests outside the event, Lib Dem members inside rose to their feet to give their leader a standing ovation when he finished his speech.
The party has long rejected positive discrimination. When it was debated at the 2002 conference, women delegates wore T-shirts with the slogan “I am not a token woman”. But campaigners say non-intervention has not worked and action is now needed.
Earlier, Tim Farron, the Lib Dem president, had taken to the stage to argue that the party had been right to enter the coalition. But he was tough on the Conservatives, saying that they had long wanted to reduce the size of the State. For the Lib Dems, austerity was a necessary evil and public services would be restored in the future.