Figures reported to Labour’s national executive committee yesterday show that, whilst it may be doing better than other parties, it is still failing to ensure that its candidates for English local councils reflect their populations. With selections now having taken place in the vast majority of winnable seats, the proportion of women candidates is as low as 26% in the Eastern region and 28% in the North West where candidates have already been selected for 94% of  contests. The best performing region for female candidates is the Northern, where 45% of candidates are women.

Performance on BAME candidates also falls similarly short of what is required. Yorkshire has achieved 39% women as well as 12% BAME (compared with 11% in its population). Continue reading →