tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6897407043686481527.post795132998638470740..comments2023-09-27T05:55:59.287-07:00Comments on Maelo Manning: Rally Together-First Day of FightbackMaelo Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12242274225134150402noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6897407043686481527.post-44884015380414724222011-05-07T05:00:13.118-07:002011-05-07T05:00:13.118-07:00Dear Frank,
I totaly agree with you. The point I w...Dear Frank,<br />I totaly agree with you. The point I was making was that we would have lost lots of women councillors and we need to replace them. At the last election I know of at least two strong candidates, Karen Hamilton and Tamora Langley, who didn't win. My home was used as a campaigning base for Tamora Langley. We fought so hard for her. <br />Discrimination against women is plenty. At school a boy told me that I shouldn't be interested in politics and that I should be concentrating on 'butterflies, rainbows, fashion and chocolates'. <br />From<br />LibdemchildMaelo Manninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12242274225134150402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6897407043686481527.post-22760425712145758392011-05-07T04:09:11.788-07:002011-05-07T04:09:11.788-07:00Gender and other equality: first of all, our party...Gender and other equality: first of all, our party should be proud of the fact, and proclaim it clearly, that we have always - that is, since its foundation in the 1980s - insisted on equal representation on candidate selection short-lists of men and women. The problem is that not enough women are coming forward, and that is what must be addressed. The same thing is true of people of colour, though there are hopeful signs that there are more candidates with south Asian backgrounds. (One should add that the first Indian MP - back in the nineteenth century - was a Liberal.)<br /><br />It would have helped if David Cameron had put more of the women of ability available to him, from both parts of the coalition, into cabinet posts. I can name half-a-dozen coalition male front-benchers who are there more because of their sex than their ability.<br /><br />But there is an elephant in the room: the electorate. We have to face the fact of years of conditioning that men are the leaders in society. I suggest that in troubling times, voters retreat to what they know and tend to trust a man over a woman. An academic study into what I think is a genuine phenomenon is overdue.<br /><br />I can only offer anecdotal evidence. At the 2010 general election, very strong Liberal Democrat women were defeated with small margins, while in similar seats, their male counterparts got through. At the dissolution of the Welsh parliament, we had only two male Assembly Members, as against four women. As a result of last Thursday's election, only Kirsty Williams remains to lead four men.<br /><br />It would be interesting to see the gender balance in local government (where women have been more prominent) before and after the English council elections.Frank Littlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447989626809704972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6897407043686481527.post-74171340257159662682011-05-07T04:00:26.214-07:002011-05-07T04:00:26.214-07:00Dear Frank,
I truly agree with you. Labour were go...Dear Frank,<br />I truly agree with you. Labour were going to raise tuition fees. I suspect that labour didn't want to go into coalition with us so that they could attack from the side lines then look innocent.<br />From<br />LibemchildMaelo Manninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12242274225134150402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6897407043686481527.post-28804968954017233892011-05-07T03:42:10.433-07:002011-05-07T03:42:10.433-07:00Maelo, you always post thought-provoking messages....Maelo, you always post thought-provoking messages. This one is even more interesting than usual.<br /><br />You write:<br /><i>our party paid the price for the u-turn on tuition fees</i><br />I don't think it was the U-turn as such. People understand that parties don't get all their manifesto through. On the morning after the general election, there were 500+ MPs returned who were committed to student loans and only just over 10% against. What could we do against that? It was hypocritical of Labour, who introduced the tuition fees system in the first place, to attack us, especially as Vince Cable did so much to reduce the impact of the Labour-government sponsored Browne report.<br /><br />No, it was the fact that so many of our MPs were seen to go back on a personal pledge to vote against the fees system that disappointed so many voters. (I am proud to say that all our Welsh MPs kept their word.) People understand broken promises, even if they don't understand minutiae of policy.Frank Littlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447989626809704972noreply@blogger.com