Debate to mark International Women’s Day

Key messages

• The Local Government Association’s Be a Councillor campaign works with councils, political parties, individuals and talent-spotters to encourage more people to stand as a local councillor. It is important that local government reflects the communities it represents and the Be A Councillor campaign includes a focus on encouraging woman and under-represented groups to engage with and enter politics. 
• Our members tell us that a lack of pension contributions and parental leave, and the intimidation of people in public life can all act as barriers to standing as a councillor or taking on responsibilities as a cabinet member. We want to work with central government to encourage more women to enter politics, whether as local councillors or Members of Parliament.
• The LGA will continue to work through our four political groups to support women councillors through a whole range of training and development programmes. The groups each adopt their own approaches to promote diversity in the representatives they put forward.
• In this centenary year of the Representation of the People Act 1918, the LGA is working with the Women's Local Government Society, a cross-party and independent organisation which campaigned to enable women to stand as local councillors, to identify 100 suffrage pioneers who were active in the campaign for votes, and who went on to use the extended rights to citizenship in a positive way locally.
• Women had the right to vote in local elections long before they could vote in parliamentary elections. Single women ratepayers received the right to vote in local government elections in the Municipal Franchise Act 1869, and this was extended to some married women in the Local Government Act 1894. By 1900, more than 1 million single women were registered to vote in local government elections in England.

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Debate to mark International Women’s Day:8 March 2018