There will not be a single female candidate on the ballot in more than a tenth of all constituencies when voters head to the polls on Thursday, HuffPost
UK can reveal.
Analysis of who is standing in each of the UK’s 650 constituencies shows there are no female candidates in 75 seats – about 11.5%.
The findings come despite reports that a record 1,124
Women are standing in the election, accounting for some 34% of all candidates. In the 2017 snap vote, just 29% of those vying to become MPs were women.
But further investigation reveals that the number of seats where there are no women on the ballot would have been much higher in this
election if it was not for smaller parties standing candidates.
In the last parliament, the Conservatives,
Labour, SNP and Liberal
Democrats were the four largest parties, accounting for 92% of seats in the Commons. In this election, there are 636 constituencies where at least one of these parties have stood a candidate.
But in a staggering 142 of the seats – 22% – none of the candidates put forward by any of the Tories, Labour, SNP or the Lib Dems are women.
Serena Laidley, who is one of three candidates standing for the Women’s Equality Party, said women MPs are stepping down “because of the abuse and intimidation they face online”.
“Harassment and abuse is common within Westminster and we are on the edge of a
Brexit that will hit women hardest,” she said.
In October, Liberal Democrat Heidi Allen announced her decision not to run as an MP, saying she was “exhausted” by the threats and abuse she had received. But Laidley, who is standing in Luton North, said mainstream parties “still fail to see the importance of breaking down the barriers to women getting more representation in parliament”.
She added: “Women’s voices are needed in politics if we are ever going to deal with these issues properly and protect women’s interests.”
However, the number of female candidates the four main parties are standing is not equal.
According to research by the
BBC, more than half (53%) of Labour’s candidates are women – 335 of 631. It is the only party with (in this respect) equal, or better-than-equal, representation for women.
The SNP has the next highest percentage. Of the party’s 59 candidates, 20 are women – about 34%.
Meanwhile, 31% of Lib Dem candidates (188 of 611) and 30% of Conservative candidates (192 of 635) are women.
By contrast with the men’s tally, there are just four seats in this election where every candidate is female.
In Barking, Chippenham, Llanelli and Telford, all of the people in the running to become MP are women. Seats With No Women On The Ballot Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine
Basildon & Billericay
Basildon South & Thurrock East
Bedford
Blackley & Broughton
Bosworth
Bournemouth West
Bracknell
Brentwood & Ongar
Bromsgrove
Buckingham
Calder Valley
Cambridgeshire South
Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South
Cheltenham
Chorley
Christchurch
Clacton
Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill
Crawley
Dartford
Delyn
Denton & Reddish
Dorset North
Dumfries & Galloway
Durham North
East Lothian
Eltham
Enfield Southgate
Exeter
Gillingham & Rainham
Glasgow South West
Halesowen & Rowley Regis
Hampshire North East
Hartlepool
Harwich & Essex North
Huddersfield
Huntingdon
Ilford North
Keighley
Leeds Central
Leeds North West
Leicestershire South
Liverpool Walton
Liverpool West Derby
Macclesfield
Newark
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Norfolk Mid
North Down
Rayleigh & Wickford
Richmond (Yorks)
Scarborough & Whitby
Sheffield South East
Skipton & Ripon
St Helens North
Stockton North
Stockton South
Stone
Stratford-on-Avon
Surrey South West
Swansea West
Tamworth
Torfaen
Tunbridge Wells
Vale of Clwyd
Wansbeck
Wantage
Warwick & Leamington
Watford
Westmorland & Lonsdale
Weston-Super-Mare
Windsor
The Wrekin
Wyre ForestMake sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a nutshell.Related... Women Have Only Made Up One Fifth Of General Election Coverage So Far Record Number Of Women To Stand In 2019 General Election Lib Dem’s Heidi Allen To Step Down Over Brexit ‘Nastiness And Intimidation’ Why Is The DUP Missing From Election Coverage When They've Had So Much Influence? Question Time Panel Will Now Feature One Whole Woman Following All-Male Backlash