Labour woman to fight Kelly seat

Paul Britton

November 06, 2008

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MP Ruth Kelly

LABOUR will select a woman to fight Ruth Kelly's Bolton West seat, the M.E.N. can reveal.

Ms Kelly announced her decision to stand down as transport secretary at September's Labour conference in Manchester. She will also not stand as an MP at the next election.

Now party bosses have said they will have an all-woman shortlist for the seat at the next election. Labour hold the seat with a majority of just 2,064.

The decision was taken following a meeting of the party's National Executive Committee last month and a standard 12-week selection process began on Monday.

The prospective parliamentary candidate is expected be chosen from the shortlist at a closed meeting in February next year.

Labour says it has a `proud tradition' of increasing the number of women in politics.

The North West Labour Party refused to reveal whether any names have already been put forward.

A spokesman said: "The NEC makes decisions on a case by case basis as to whether a parliamentary selection process should be an open shortlist or all-women.

"The Labour Party has a proud tradition of increasing the number of women in the political process and this decision has been taken to maintain and improve the balance of north west MPs."

Trafford council leader Susan Williams has already been named as a Tory candidate for the marginal constituency.

The Bolton South East seat will also be vacated at the next general election after sitting MP Brian Iddon announced his intention to step down following a 30 year career in politics. Barrister Yasmin Qureshi has been selected by the Labour Party to contest it.

If elected, she would be the country's first woman Muslim MP.

Labour has up until June 2010 to call a general election.

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Trumpetman21 (06/11/2008 at 08:16)

Whoever it is they will lose, all thanks to the Toll Tax.

Nice.

Rt Hon Dr Rev MC Spanner MP QC FCA FRICS JP OK (06/11/2008 at 09:08)

Doesn't matter who they select - Susan Williams will walk into it.

Pentest 2, Hyde (06/11/2008 at 11:01)

I sincerely hope that the voters vote out the next NuLabour tax mongering parasite, even pushing them into 5th place.

Bean B4, manchester (06/11/2008 at 11:16)

Hopefully the Tories will win both on their way to trouncing Labour out of office. Then we can return tot he glory days of the Blessed Margaret!

Ruth was weak, ineffective, contradictory not very likeable. Glad to see the back of her.

umpire 2, Salford M7 4HT (06/11/2008 at 12:08)

OK then, here it starts, Get Labour out, bow to queen Margaret and the Tories, that means you were not around the 18 years of further mismanagement of the Tories, rules and regulations, different laws and ect.

Now, instead of thinking about who would do what for this country, you need to get the voters out and without them you can not do anything to change the great British system.

dave pickup (06/11/2008 at 12:45)

Why tthe positive discrimination? Surely the best candidate should get the job. Now ,if they were to announce that it would go to a MAN, things would quickly hit the fan!

Andy., Bury (06/11/2008 at 13:08)

So any suggestions from critics as to how the negative discrimination which clearly affects women in politics should be addressed?

Bean B4, manchester (06/11/2008 at 13:19)

umpire 2, Salford M7 4HT:

" ... bow to queen Margaret and the Tories, that means you were not around the 18 years of further mismanagement of the Tories, rules and regulations, different laws and ect"

Not really sure what the above ramble means but I assume Umpire thinks I don't really remember the glory days. I do.

I remember The Blessed Margaret taking this failing country by the scruff of its neck and putting right all the wrongs introduced by labour.

I remember those fantastic 18 years very well and look forward to their return. This time I hope the Tories go further and introduce some very radical changes.

Fran M (Permissum Populus Constituo) (06/11/2008 at 13:41)

Sex discrimination is alive and doing very very well in NuLabour.

So called positive discrimination is still discrimination. It is an affront to a society that aspires to equality.

Pick the best person for the job.

Octavius Tinsworth Ace (06/11/2008 at 15:03)

Andy, what "negative discrimination" is this then? Merely the fact that there are fewer women MPs than there are men? So you think it's a good idea to use discrimination to redress an imbalance do you? Employment laws forbid discrimination on the basis of gender, race or sexual orientation and yet here is our very own government practising exactly that.

This is pure political point-scoring, and it's not confined to Labour either; Cameron has already said that the Tories will use all-woman shortlists.

Clearly, however, Labour and the Conservatives are not equal opportunities employers.

Octavius Tinsworth Ace (06/11/2008 at 15:07)

Bean B4, you're being sarcastic ... right? Because two recessions, unemployment approaching four million and an unbelievably crass "don't care" attitude towards communities that were destroyed by pit closures and the death of British manufacturing while pandering to the City of London greed-merchants is what I remember of the Tories' last spell in power.

citycentre, manchester (06/11/2008 at 15:12)

Bean B4

i remember over 3 million unemployed (probably more than 5 without the fiddled figures),

i remember riots in the streets

i remember our property being handed over to the city bankers to make a huge profit (notice how much faster uk energy prices are going up compared to our european neighbours)

i remember banking regulations being realxed to allow the city to make more money, and we are still cleaning up after that

i remember massive transfers of power from our elected parliament to the unelected european commission, with no referendum

i remember the coal mines being closed down, leaving us dependent on imported oil and gas for heat and electricity

maybe we were in different countries back then?

Rt Hon Dr Rev MC Spanner MP QC FCA FRICS JP OK (06/11/2008 at 17:21)

"Because two recessions, unemployment approaching four million and an unbelievably crass "don't care" attitude towards communities that were destroyed by pit closures and the death of British manufacturing while pandering to the City of London greed-merchants is what I remember of the Tories' last spell in power. "

Take out the line about pit closures and you could be describing Britain today. Britain doesn't rule the world and when America sneezes, we catch a cold. The true test is how you deal with the cold.

The Tories brought as out of recession and Labour are taking back in with a la 1976, except this time we won't be able to beg from the IMF

Tubby Scruff (06/11/2008 at 21:12)

Thats two women New Labour will be offering up as human sacrifices.

The other is standing in Brian Iddons seat, a Livingstone cast off, Asian Muslim Human Rights Lawyer. Dont see what she has in common with Bolton, do you ?

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