What will the Conservative Party look like after the election? Only around a fifth of its candidates selected so far are women, according to election-watcher Michael Crick. Currently, a quarter of Conservative MPs are women, the lowest proportion among the four largest parties. With the Tories’ share of seats likely to be thinned at the next election, that could fall further. The Tories have had three female leaders — Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and Liz Truss, all of whom served as prime minister. Labour has never elected a woman as leader, but Margaret Beckett and Harriet Harman served as interim leaders in 1994 and 2010 respectively.
Labour is also pressing on with its candidate selections. It recently opened applications in 94 safe Tory seats that it thinks are winnable. Some Left-wingers have grumbled about the number of Oxford-educated men selected.
