www.wpradio.co.uk Reviews the political year

PRESS RELEASE
http://www.wpradio.co.uk
Women’s Parliamentary Radio

For immediate release
December 14th 2010
http://www.wpradio.co.uk reviews the political year with Conservative MP Helen Grant, Times Sketch writer Ann Treneman, and Cambridge students at a protest sit-in.

Our http://www.wpradio.co.uk reporter Linda Fairbrother spoke to Helen Grant the new Conservative MP for Maidstone and the Weald, the former seat of “Strictly” star Ann Widdecombe. But from her first “biggest, best” day as an MP, through to her Maiden Speech, Helen says it’s “issues” she’s concerned with and there will be no dancing for her:

• “I wish I had a penny for everybody who has asked me about Ann but Ann is Ann . There is only one Ann I will have to be their Helen and through hard work, integrity and service I will win their respect. On the couple of occasions during the campaign when I did need her she was there. “

• “The Chamber takes some getting used to, even though I am a Solicitor and had been to Court, there’s nothing quite like the Chamber, there’s tradition, there’s procedure, you have to notify the Speaker before you make your Maiden Speech, it’s not a moment to mess up, there’s pressure. I waited for five hours that day, but it was a lovely opportunity to listen to others, I spoke about social mobility, aspiration, family and enterprise, which have been key to getting me here.”

• “I don’t talk about being the first female black MP, but if it breaks down those ceilings it’s a good thing. I’m just Helen and all I wanted to do was become the next MP for Maidstone and the Weald and thankfully I am here. I now want to work hard and you have to prove yourself to be useful, reliable and loyal.”

• “I became a Member of the Justice Select Committee, and we are currently looking at the work of the Family Courts and the Probation Service. I feel I can draw on the experience of 23 years and hopefully it will be listened to and be of good use.”

• “I’m enjoying it enormously – no one day is the same, one day I’m walking and talking with giants like Margaret Thatcher or David Cameron, and the next day I am walking with our dog Charlie, who recently won the Westminster Dog of the year, there’s never a dull moment.”

• “I’m a very busy hard working MP and have no time for “Strictly Come Dancing”.

Linda Fairbrother asks the Times columnist Ann Treneman to review the political year. Her book “Annus Horribilis” – The Worst Year in British Politics – is available on Amazon.co.uk – Here she tells us how she rates the women politicians in the Chamber in 2010 and she’s got a soft spot for Theresa May MP, the Home Secretary.

• “At one time I banned myself from writing about her shoes, because it was just too easy, but I am back now because I actually think – unlike some other Home Secretaries – she has a grip at what she is good and bad at. Jacqui Smith had no clue how she was seen by the outside World. Theresa is acutely aware of how she and the Tory Party is seen – she is the one who made the “nasty party” speech. She has been refreshingly good, quite tart with the opposition, quite focused, doesn’t get in out of her depth, knows when to stop. She is a woman who knows her limits, she has been quite a surprise so far, but that job has a way of gobbling you up so we will see what happens, but I think she has had a good year.”

• “Harriet is my woman of the year without question, I am giving her huge points, she’s has a great year! Not only has she managed to lead Labour out of the wilderness – although some would say they are still in it – she led them during this quite difficult time and Harriet has learnt to make jokes! When she made that ginger rodent jibe – not many years ago a joke was a foreign country for Harriet. I don’t think anyone was offended. I think even Danny A thought it was quite funny really. I think there’s logic there, but I am a sketch writer. I think Harriet has done a brilliant job, she’s become a pro at PMQs, she really handled it and you have got to give her points for that. ”

• “The Lib Dem women are between a rock and a hard place, like the Lib Dems are. Sarah Teather and Lynne Featherstone are the only women to break through, sometimes I think am I missing people with the Lib Dems! Lynne Featherstone has all the right instincts but she is completely stifled by a role in a Tory government, she is having to defend policies she does not believe in. I think Sarah Teather has a better role because she really does believe in the pupil premium, but you feel she has become invisible and that they have lost their way.”

• “I think we have some very good new women MPs, they are a breath of fresh air, Luciana Berger on the Labour side, Rachel Reeves from Labour. On the Tories side I have been interested in Charlotte Leslie, Penny Mourdant, Elizabeth Truss, Priti Patel. There is a whole host of new women on the benches and hope springs eternal I think they will make a difference.”

http://www.wpradio.co.uk also caught up with two student protestors in the sit-in at Cambridge Old School’s Combination Room, and asked 25-year-old Phd student “Polly” ( a pseudonym) and 22-year-old history student Rachel to review the past year in politics and to look forward to 2011. They both said they felt “betrayed” by politics and the “Big Society” and their new Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert, however the Conservative students in Cambridge are supporting him and the doubling in fees to to £6,000 a year or more. Boni Sones spoke to them both.

Polly said: “Fees is a bigger betrayal than expenses. The fact is I felt the expensive scandal was systematic and evidence of corruption in Westminster but this vote shows that our government is putting in jeopardy the futures of those they are supposed to be representing and it is unacceptable.”

Rachel said: “Expenses was a distraction from some of the real problems we are facing. It was symptomatic of wider lack of accountability by politicians and the fact the papers focused on this issue for so long was a major betrayal. They are not looking at the education cuts, tuition fee rises, and wider cuts, and it shows the way the media is framing the cuts at the moment. I don’t trust the media to portray the cuts either. “

Our supporters in the Lords:
Congratulations to Anne Jenkin wife of Tory North Essex MP Bernard Jenkin who was made a peer because of her charitable and political work for the Conservative Party. Labour politician Oona King and the Liberal Democrat politician Sal Brinton are both in the Lords too. All three peers are interviewed under our 2008 content page: Do listen:www.wpradio.co.uk/index3.html

Footnotes:
1. Wpradio.co.uk is a web based broadcaster supported by all parties. Latest web stats show that in May 2010 we had our highest audience ever with 3,913 visitors, there were over 1,000 more visitors in June and July too compared to last year and even August increased. We don’t share our content with others in order to inflate our stats, you have to visit our website to listen to our content.

2. Our web stats show that our visitors are loyal, they return, tune in for some time and to more than one item. We have doubled our audience in a year. In July we published our Top Ten podcasts for that month. The top 8 all had over 100 downloads per podcast. Shirley Williams is hugely popular with 777 listeners to one podcast! The Oona King diaries are proving popular too.

3. wpradio also carries international content and has interviews with women MEPs in Europe, and women politicians in Africa and the Middle East.

4. Our supporters include Theresa May MP, Jo Swinson MP, Harriet Harman MP,and many other female politicians listed on our site. Jackie Ashley, of the Guardian, is our Chair.

5. The British Library archives all the interviews on wpradio.co.uk in its new web collection.

6. For more information contact Boni Sones OBE on 07703 716961.
End.

“if Chole Can” with Esther McVey MP for Wirral West

PRESS RELEASE
http://www.wpradio.co.uk
Women’s Parliamentary Radio

For immediate release

December 2nd 2010
“IF Chole Can” – Iain Duncan Smith MP and Esther McVey MP tell http://www.wpradio.co.uk how your girls need positive role models for successful careers

At the launch of “If Chole Can” an inspirational careers “bookazine” aimed at 11-13 year olds on Merseyside, and written by Esther McVey Conservative MP for the Wirral West, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP founder of the Centre for Social Justice, told Boni Sones OBE, Executive Producer of Women’s Parliamentary Radio that young women needed new role models to help them form successful careers.

Mr Duncan Smith MP said: “I think it is an excellent idea. I have two daughters I hope they will be able to go on and achieve in their own right, this helps people like them realise others have gone before them and also it is a chance for people who don’t have a supportive family like mine do to read this and realise they are just as good as anybody else. They can go on to achieve and that is one of the big problems to get young girls born into a broken home and difficulties to get a sense of self worth and self esteem that values them as human beings rather than as the goods and chattels of somebody else.

“What I am trying to do is help change society so that young woman at the bottom of society in the most difficult circumstances can go out and get work and achieve and do what they can do rather than think they are nothing other than just a sex object for some violent man and changing that is critical. That is what we are trying to do with our reforms that we are bringing through and the career path and the magazine and Esther’s magazine is in the middle of that showing them that they can do that.”

”If Chloe Can” will be distributed free across Merseyside and then will be launched nationally too, and will address what is perceived to be a lack of “visible and professional” role models for girls. On Merseyside, girls are double the national average to claim benefits and half the national average to set up in business.
The book is comprised of a wide variety of female ‘firsts’ who have all been high achievers in their respective fields. All have overcome difficulties and hardships to become the best in the world; their talents and expertise range from; science to finance, law to politics, fashion and arts.

Mr Duncan Smith went on to tell http://www.wpradio.co.uk that girls were too often told they should try to attain “instantaneous” celebrity rather than taught how to build “sustainable” careers:
“The magazine features role models who have achieved tangible things often never heard of, often quiet but actually they are the key. There is a tendency for most girls magazines to feature nothing but instantaneous celebrity and that is not very healthy because you want sustainable futures for these girls. You want them to go on and do anything but on the basis of what they have achieved and that changes lives.

“It’s about figuring out what works and making sure that girls who would never have had that chance can recognise how to achieve it and that others have achieved in more difficult circumstances than themselves. People go on to achieve great things and they will realise they have just as much going for them as everybody else and that is key. “

Esther McVey MP told http://www.wpradio.co.uk: “I was concerned about the alarming job stats to come out of Merseyside because girls didn’t have role models so I set about collecting the stories of friends and others I thought were inspirational. Every lady I approached said I will do that because we have messages and stories to tell. You maybe issued a bad set of cards to play with but it is what you do and how you overcome it, and nothing good comes easy you have to keep going. People are told things are going to be so easy and they aren’t.

“I wanted to be an MP to address unfairness and that is really my motivational force and that is across the board. From Merseyside we want to extend it right across the UK and “If Chloe can” anyone can. There are tips on how people achieved and what they did and you can see how much time and hard work went into it, it is realistic expectations.”

The http://www.wpradio.co.uk round table debate also spoke to: Debbie Moore – First Female to set up a PLC Pineapple; Lucinda Ellery – Inspirational Businesswoman; Rona Cant – Adventurer; Gillian McDonald – First UK Female Whisky Distiller; Lisa Pover – Cabbie turned Yachtsman and founder of the Lisa Pover Charitable Trust; Louise Greenhalgh – First UK Female Bomb Disposal Officer in Afghanistan.

The RT Hon John Hayes MP – Minister for State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning also told http://www.wpradio.co.uk that girls careers will be top of his agenda:
“Esther is a great role model a great example of what women can do, she has fought a very hard battle to elevate the role of women and the potential of women and to help us realise that. I want to borrow from that understanding and enthuse our policy agenda with that potential and I want to challenge our preconceived ideas about careers and learning for women.

“There will be more apprenticeships for women, better advice and guidance for women and a clearer pathway in schools that helps them to fulfil their potential. This book is a great step and all credit to Esther McVey.“

Mr Duncan Smith MP went on to say that many other careers were available for women to pursue if only they were told about them:
“X Factor is entertainment, but too often now the only way women are portrayed is in instantaneous celebrity and there are now women in substantial careers stock-broking, engineers, women fighter pilots, women diffusing bombs, these are substantial careers you have probably never heard of. Celebrity is fine but it is only a tiny bit of what women should aspire to and all these other things are worth a huge amount to families and the state.”

He said too often the media commented on what women wore not what they did:
“I wish the media would get it sorted out they comment constantly on what women MPs wear, but there are plenty of men that wander round in the same suit or tie they wore three days running, men get away quite lightly, women get here because they have real belief like Esther, they should have real respect. I tell my daughters you are better than any man you can achieve what you want to achieve, if you put your heart to it and I will back you and I tell my sons too, we know how to argue robustly. “

Footnotes:
1. Wpradio.co.uk is a web based broadcaster supported by all parties. Latest web stats show that in May 2010 we had our highest audience ever with 3,913 visitors, there were over 1,000 more visitors in June and July too compared to last year and even August increased. We don’t share our content with others in order to inflate our stats, you have to visit our website to listen to our content.

2. Our web stats show that our visitors are loyal, they return, tune in for some time and to more than one item. We have doubled our audience in a year. In July we published our Top Ten podcasts for that month. The top 8 all had over 100 downloads per podcast. Shirley Williams is hugely popular with 777 listeners to one podcast! The Oona King diaries are proving popular too.

3. wpradio also carries international content and has interviews with women MEPs in Europe, and women politicians in Africa and the Middle East.

4. Our supporters include Theresa May MP, Jo Swinson MP, Harriet Harman MP,and many other female politicians listed on our site. Jackie Ashley, of the Guardian, is our Chair.

5. The British Library archives all the interviews on wpradio.co.uk in its new web collection.

6. For more information contact Boni Sones OBE on 07703 716961.
End.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone talks to www.wpradio.co.uk

PRESS RELEASE
http://www.wpradio.co.uk
Women’s Parliamentary Radio

For immediate release
November 19th 2010
Two women at the top

Lynne Featherstone MP for Hornsey and Wood Green is the new Equalities Minister. Alongside Theresa May MP the Home Secretary and Minister for Women & Equalities she will be spearheading the coalition government’s equalities plans.

Lynne “loves” coalition government, thinks “thrashing out” compromises is a good way to work and says she’s looking forward to implementing the Labour government’s Equalities Act, which she says is a “three party” success story.

She’s pledged to narrow the gender pay gap and wants all teenagers to see the film “Made in Dagenham”. Lynne and Theresa are busy progressing their own equalities agenda including flexible working, a Transgender Action Plan, kite marking air-brushing in magazines, more women in the Boardrooms, and moving the civil partnership agenda forward.

NB: This interview was conducted before the government announced it will drop Labour’s proposed new socio-economic Equality law duty requiring councils to tackle social deprivation.

Lynne told Boni Sones OBE our Executive Producer:
• “Firstly I am living proof miracles do happen, I had never thought of being a government minister in the way that this had happened. The Liberal Democrats were not necessarily starred to go straight to government. But opportunity has knocked.”

• “I love coalition – two heads are always better than one and interestingly, the Equality Act which I am commencing, it was a Labour Bill, but both the opposition parties supported it. I did put down so many amendments on women’s issues, particularly on pay, which Labour didn’t accept. The Bill is going ahead, nine-tenths is already commenced and the outstanding issues are coming on stream, they were not all timetabled to start at the same moment. The clauses on positive action, goods and services, old people, dual discrimination are being worked out with business too. You could say it was a three party success. “

• “I thought “Made in Dagenham” was a brilliant film! I think children of 12 young girls and boys should see it, it shouldn’t have an adult rating because it is such a significant part of our social history and made that huge differential step hat led to the Equal Pay Act. Now forty years later I am trying to deliver what those women started, and it’s a fight still. We are moving the agenda forward, such as the removal of gagging clauses, and how the gender pay reporting parts of the Bill are going to work the voluntary side. We are progressing women on Boards, it’s still a pitiful seven per cent, and we’re looking a how we can break down those barriers for women at all levels including the psychological ones.”

• “There is no rowing back, it may not be the way envisaged by the previous government, but there is no doubt that Theresa May and myself are committed to the agenda of narrowing the pay gap, and flexible working for all. These are measures that will change things quite substantially. Requesting flexible working often labels you as a woman but flexible working will help men too who have children and caring responsibilities. It should be the norm and best business practice because the best businesses do it already because it increases their bottom line. “

• “Theresa and I are very different women, I’m Liberal Democrat and she’s Conservative, you just look at us and you know that, but we are both absolutely committed to the cause. We do have very vibrant differences of how we want to get there, but it is just like in the real world you have to thrash it out between you and you work out the best way possible and with the sum of two you get the better methodology. We have to work it out, but right across government, there are loads of disagreements all the time, it is proper government because they have to be discussed out in the open with officials. They are hard fought for thought through policies in a way we haven’t seen in a long time, I think it is a better form of government.”

• “I am very proud to push the LBG and T agenda forward. We are the first government ever to be publishing a Transgender Action Plan for equalities rights. That will come next year and they are probably the most marginalised groups. It was fantastic to go on the gay pride march, I will always push the equalities agenda as I am a Liberal but equally matched by my Conservative coalition, for a long time they had a relatively poor reputation here, but that has changed beyond recognition, and they now have a desire to move forward. The doors I am pushing at in terms of this equality agenda are far more open than people would realise.”

• “The Real Woman campaign and the body confidence campaign I regard as really important and while the media may say this is not government business, it is felt out there in the country. The size of this problem for young people, the depression the anxiety the eating disorders, because we are fed this continuous diet of the body shape that we all have to aspire is felt – parents know it and to a child these things are monumental. It such an important campaign but it wasn’t in the Coalition Agreement but it is now. I have pushed it onto the government agenda as I am sure they accidentally forgot it. “

• “As a Minister for Equalities people do listen to you differently and that allows me to help all the groups I am supporting on the Body Confidence campaign, you couldn’t have done that to the same degree as a spokesperson. It is not a reason for coalition government, the electorate didn’t like any of us and we couldn’t allow unstable government, but outside of my belief in coalition politics the real politics demanded a coalition. Within that coalition Liberal Democrats have fought to deliver the things that we believe in and we are finding the Conservatives have some nifty ideas themselves.”

• “I would love to see air-brushing in magazines kite marked, the gender pay gap narrow, women on Boards, to move the civil partnerships agenda forward, these are the things that matter and I am going to do my best to deliver these things.”

Footnotes:
1. Wpradio.co.uk is a web based broadcaster supported by all parties. Latest web stats show that in May 2010 we had our highest audience ever with 3,913 visitors, there were over 1,000 more visitors in June and July too compared to last year and even August increased. We don’t share our content with others in order to inflate our stats, you have to visit our website to listen to our content.

2. Our web stats show that our visitors are loyal, they return, tune in for some time and to more than one item. We have doubled our audience in a year. In July we published our Top Ten podcasts for that month. The top 8 all had over 100 downloads per podcast. Shirley Williams is hugely popular with 777 listeners to one podcast! The Oona King diaries are proving popular too.

3. wpradio also carries international content and has interviews with women MEPs in Europe, and women politicians in Africa and the Middle East.

4. Our supporters include Theresa May MP, Jo Swinson MP, Harriet Harman MP,and many other female politicians listed on our site. Jackie Ashley, of the Guardian, is our Chair.

5. The British Library archives all the interviews on wpradio.co.uk in its new web collection.

6. For more information contact Boni Sones OBE on 07703 716961.
End.

Caroline Flint MP – On The Frontline of housing benefit reform

November 12th 2010
http://www.wpradio.co.uk – Caroline Flint MP – On The Frontline of housing benefit reform

Caroline Flint MP for Don Valley, is Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in Ed Miliband’s Shadow Cabinet. New rules meant MPs had to choose at least six female MPs but ended up giving them eight of the 19 elected places.

Caroline in now on the front-line attacking coalition plans to reform housing benefit, even though she thinks some reform is needed and is leading the charge for a programme of building new affordable homes. She also told Boni Sones OBE, Executive Producer of http://www.wpradio.co.uk she was no longer a token woman in a Labour cabinet line-up but was now a “first among equals”.
Caroline tells Boni:

Housing benefit reform:
• “I think we have always been in favour of reform, I was a former employment and welfare reform minister, and we have looked at ways of adjusting housing benefit and allowances and allowing people going into work to keep more of their benefits, but housing benefit can be a very complicated issue. One of my concerns now as Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is that there is not enough affordable housing for people to move into and that is why local authorities turn to the private rented sector to house families. We are not hearing enough from this government about supply.”

• “The housing cap, that gets most press coverage, does affect some people, but the biggest changes that will affect 700,000 people across the country are the changes to the sort of properties that you can seek to live in and get help with your rent with. This is being tightened and reduced and that affects pensioners and working families too.”

• “There will be displacement here, we don’t know how much, and that is why we have asked the government to do a housing impact assessment on all the cumulative impact of these various policies and get a better idea what is happening. They say rents in the private sector will go down but the National Landlords’ Association say their members will stop providing housing to those on benefit. We need to make sure we don’t end up with a mess and disastrous consequences for people many of whom are in work and trying to do their best.”

How the housing benefit changes will impact on women:

• “A lot of women on their own, single parents, those in relationships that have broken down need bigger accommodation because they have children and they may face some very difficult circumstances where they could end up in bed and breakfast accommodation.”

• “Labour did a lot for housing in terms of improving the stock and building homes as well, but we have suffered from 30 years of “Right to Buy”. We did get our house building up to a record since 1981, which means the homes being completed now, are because of our investment and not because of what this government is doing, but there are still not enough social houses.”

• “If you are having a cap or if you are reducing the cost of housing benefit you have to do it in a much more staged way to make sure people don’t fall over a cliff edge. It has to be staged and managed with some support and flexibility for some really tough cases to make sure people don’t end up in bed and breakfast. We have to get back to building more social homes to rent, I take responsibility for this too, but I have to say it is a thirty year result of not replenishing the stock. Supply is key and will also bring the cost of renting down.”

On women in the Shadow Cabinet:

• “The difference now is that I am delighted to have been elected by my peers both men and women in the Labour party, that was a good boost. I am now in the Cabinet as a first amongst equals not just attending when my policy area comes up or attending not with the same status as other Cabinet members. That was my criticism before that under Gordon many of us weren’t first amongst equals, and now I am delighted to see what has happened.”

• “The General Election raised the consciousness of the lack of women in the Cabinet and created a debate, and I have to say quite a lot of my male colleagues wanted to address it more. When the shadow cabinet elections came we all got there regardless of having a quota and that is really good and I think it will make a difference.”

• “There is a generational issue and we now have more women than the other parties put together but I still want to see more women councillors too, Pakistan has more; across the parties it is a bit of a sorry tale. It has to be root and branch reform in encouraging more women to get involved in their communities. If you don’t have women at the top of the party with responsibility and power you cannot make a step change. Too often the routes to the top are male dominated and we have to break down some of that political elitism.”

The Big Society in conversation – Lynne Berry CEO of WRVS.

In another new podcast broadcast Lynne Berry, the CEO of the WRVS, has told wpradio.co.uk that the voluntary sector can fill gaps in services but it is not a free option. The “Big Society” builds on the tradition of people getting involved in their communities but, she says, it is not a replacement for public services.

The WRVS has over 45,000 volunteers offering practical help to older people, and has celebrated its 70th anniversary. Lynne told our reporter Linda Fairbrother that if the services of the third-sector are to expand to create the “Big Society” then more funding will be needed to professionally develop and back up volunteers with training and support. The corporate sector is already responding to the rallying cry!

Footnotes:
1. Wpradio.co.uk is a web based broadcaster supported by all parties. Latest web stats show that in May 2010 we had our highest audience ever with 3,913 visitors, there were over 1,000 more visitors in June and July too compared to last year and even August increased. We don’t share our content with others in order to inflate our stats, you have to visit our website to listen to our content.

2. Our web stats show that our visitors are loyal, they return, tune in for some time and to more than one item. We have doubled our audience in a year. In July we published our Top Ten podcasts for that month. The top 8 all had over 100 downloads per podcast. Shirley Williams is hugely popular with 777 listeners to one podcast! The Oona King diaries are proving popular too.

3. wpradio also carries international content and has interviews with women MEPs in Europe, and women politicians in Africa and the Middle East.

4. Our supporters include Theresa May MP, Jo Swinson MP, Harriet Harman MP, and many other female politicians listed on our site. Jackie Ashley, of the Guardian, is our Chair.

5. The British Library archives all the interviews on wpradio.co.uk in its new web collection.

6. For more information contact Boni Sones OBE on 07703 716961.
End.

Eleanor Laing MP for Epping Forest – Constitutional Reform

PRESS RELEASE
http://www.wpradio.co.uk
Women’s Parliamentary Radio

For immediate release
October 18th 2010
http://www.wpradio.co.uk hears why Eleanor Laing MP thinks the £100 million cost of Constitutional Reform is a price not worth paying!
Eleanor Laing MP for Epping Forest – Constitutional Reform

Eleanor Laing the MP for Epping Forest is Chairman of the Conservative Home Affairs and Constitutional Affairs Committee. She also sits on the Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs and is examining the new “Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill” currently going through Parliament.

Eleanor is against voting reform and the suggested system of AV, thinks the 5th May date for the referendum is flawed, and believes a wholly elected House of Lords would be a mistake. However, she does agree with larger constituencies and reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600.
In this special interview Boni Sones, our Executive Producer, begun by asking her why she opposed voting reform at this point in time? She told Boni:

• “The coalition agreement provides for voting reform but changing the voting system at this time will cost £100 million at a time when the Country is in serious economic crisis. I personally think it is quite wrong to spend £100 million of tax payers money on this when it could go to schools, hospitals, nurses and other worthwhile causes. “

• “We should wait until we are in better economic circumstances but we have to have the referendum because it is part of the coalition agreement. I do accept that it is a price worth paying in order to have the stability of the coalition, which then allows the government to tackle the economic crisis.”

• “To hold the referendum on the same day as local elections in England and the same day as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have national elections is likely to distort the result. It should be held on a day when there are not other important elections. The different turn-outs with other elections are likely to distort the results, I don’t know what that distortion will be but it will be distorted.”

• “I do agree with changing the boundaries and having larger constituencies. I don’t think anybody can argue against equalisation of constituencies. We are all having to work harder and MPs should do the same.”

• “Personally I don’t think we should have a wholly elected House of Lords. The House of Lords is a revising Chamber and there are people there who bring decades of experience and wisdom. There are some very distinguished people who give Parliament and the Country the benefit of their experiences and I think the House of Lords is the better for having these people there. It would be a pity to lose them.”
End.

wpradio goes to the Conservative Fringe!

PRESS RELEASE
http://www.wpradio.co.uk
Women’s Parliamentary Radio

For immediate release
October 8th 2010

Juliet Lyon CBE Women in the Prison System

Juliet Lyon CBE, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, spoke at a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference on “Should there be fewer people in prison”? She believes that the numbers of women in prisons could be cut in half, without risking public safety.

Juliet says the new Women’s Centres, set up by the last Labour government after the Corston review of prisons, should be kept as “one of the most attractive and cheap solutions” compared to the cost of putting a women in prison, upwards of £45,000 a year.

She told our Executive Producer Boni Sones: “Our population of women in prisons has just mushroomed to 4,500 and over a year over 12,000 women are going into the prison system some with a stay of only six days, and that is enough to cause chaos in a women’s life. Given most of these women have a high level of mental health need, many of them are addicted or trafficked, we think there could be a much more intelligent response to their problems.

“There are now a network of Women’s Centres across the country, following the Corston review, enabling women to take responsibility for their own lives and that of their children. It seems to us that this is a solution hanging by a thread because the Centres are on time limited funding, due to run out in March next year. There are already results emerging, but because the government is now looking at payment by results, there is an interim need to make sure these Women’s Centres don’t disappear because they are working well. “

Nicola Blackwood MP Women on the frontline

The Conservative Women’s Organisation teamed up with ActionAid UK to look at the issue of “On the Frontline: Women, Peace and Conflict”. They are calling for the Conservative government to appoint an International Violence against Women Minister.

Our reporter Linda Fairbrother first spoke to panelist Nicola Blackwood MP, Chair of the All- Party Parliamentary Group on Women and Conflict, then Bobby Middleton of the European Union Women’s Organisation, Matilda Parker, from Liberia, and Dorcas Erskin, of ActionAid. Finally she caught up with Pauline Lucas, Chairman of Conservative Women’s Organisation.

Nicola told Linda: “This is a crisis situation and we need to find ways to deal with it better. It is not in the British interest to have greater insecurity abroad, and human rights abuses such as sexual violence perpetuate insecurity. If we want to achieve security in Afghanistan and North Africa, then we need to address the issue of violence against women. We need to prioritise women and gender and conflict so that we can meet our moral responsibility and the national security implications.”

Damian Green MP women and the Burka

The Immigration Minister, Damian Green MP, told a “Big Brother Watch” fringe that the government would not be banning the Burka. He said he thought such a ban would be “Un-B
ritish”.

He told our reporter Linda Fairbrother why, as he walked to his next talk. “I think we shouldn’t have a ban on what people wear in this Country, I think it is Un-British, we want minimal interference in people’s lives and if people want to wear something they should be given the freedom to do so. Bans are wrong and over-intrusive.”

End.

 Footnotes:
1.Wpradio.co.uk is a web based broadcaster supported by all parties. Latest web stats show that in May 2010 we had our highest audience ever with 3,913 visitors, there were over 1,000 more visitors in June and July too compared to last year and even August increased. We don’t share our content with others in order to inflate our stats, you have to visit our website to listen to our content.

2.Our web stats show that our visitors are loyal, they return, tune in for some time and to more than one item. We have doubled our audience in a year. In July we published our Top Ten podcasts for that month. The top 8 all had over 100 downloads per podcast. Shirley Williams is hugely popular with 777 listeners to one podcast! The Oona King diaries are proving popular too.

3.wpradio also carries international content and has interviews with women MEPs in Europe, and women politicians in Africa and the Middle East.

4.Our supporters include Theresa May MP, Jo Swinson MP, Harriet Harman MP,and many other female politicians listed on our site. Jackie Ashley, of the Guardian, is our Chair.

5.The British Library archives all the interviews on wpradio.co.uk in its new web collection.

6.For more information contact Boni Sones OBE on 07703 716961.
End.

wpradio.co.uk listens to women

October 1^st 2010

www.wpradio.co.uk looks at women in the developing economies, women and the new prostitution laws, and the impact of the budget on women in the UK!

VSO “Women & Development”: In debate Noreine Kaleeba of Uganda and Marg Mayne, CEO VSO.

What is the best way to embark on empowering the lives of women and girls in developing economies? Here VSO’s Chief Executive, Marg Mayne talks to Noreine Kaleeba a patron and founder of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) in Uganda, and Deputy Chair of Uganda National Health Research Organisation.

They tell wpradio.co.uk reporter, Linda Fairbrother, that the education of girls and women’s involvement in politics is key to lifting women out of poverty and enabling their participation in the economy. VSO now works with partners across a range of programmes in the developing world.

Noreine Kaleeba says: “Women have to be empowered at a very local level, and the older women have to be informed. The young girl has to be given the opportunity to go to school, so education is one of the biggest keys in order to contribute productively to development.

“Women have to be involved in politics. It is mostly the men who sit in parliaments, if women are absent from legislative spaces we will never get anywhere in translating agreed conventions and policies into practice. We are progressing, we have learned a lot, but it takes education to empower women, it takes support, it takes guidance, and role models and mentors, women CEOs should take up mentoring.”

Marg Mayne says: “VSO’s work has really developed over the past 15 years. We now work with a range of partners across a range of programmes at a national level working across a system, so our range of volunteers can be even more successful. By working together we take an issue through all sections of society in order that our volunteers can have a catalytic effect on that country.”

“Prostitution Regimes in Europe” the Liberal Democrat Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon, fights back!

Concern over the last Labour government’s so called “wash-up” legislation is growing. Critics believe some of the laws passed in the last year to further equality and help women, are detrimental to those they seek to help. Already the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government has dropped moves to remove anonymity for rape complainants, after protests from the Labour ranks, but now  some Liberal Democrat’s want to see Labour’s prostitution laws reformed, they had made it an offence to buy sex from individuals who were “procured for gain”.

At Birkbeck College, the University of London, academics from all over Europe met to discuss “Prostitution Policy Regimes in Europe”. Boni Sones, our Executive Producer, spoke to Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon, a leading Liberal Democrat and Reader in Pscyhology and Social Policy at Birkbeck, Daniela Danna Reader in Sociology at the University of Milan, and Marjan Wijers a Human Rights lawyer from the Netherlands.

Dr Brooks-Gordon said:“There was cross party objections to the new prostitution laws, and people fought very hard for them not to be put in place. They went through towards the wash-up and we have had a lot of problems with the wash-up legislation including the Equalities Bill.

“We now have Premises Closure Orders where police can go into women’s homes and turn them out, we have a situation of forced rehabilitation, we are going back to Victorian Britain where sex workers can be rounded-up and forced to have three meetings to educate them out of their behaviour. This false morality is leading more and more women into the criminal justice system, and many fought against it. What they have actually done is given men more power over women’s lives because very often the police are men and it makes women subject to coercion and corruption.”

Rachel Reeves MP and Fawcett’s challenge to the Budget.

Rachel Reeves, the new Labour MP for Leeds West, is supporting attempts to force the government to analyse the impact of George Osborne’s budget on low income households, particularly the regressive effects of the VAT increases. As a former economist with the Bank of England she is backing the Fawcett Society’s judicial review of the budget and its impact on women. Boni Sones asked her why?

“The evidence that we do have that was commissioned by Yvette Cooper, The Shadow Works and Pensions Minister, from the House of Commons Library, shows that the cuts in the Budget have a disproportionate affect on women, 72 per cent will impact on women compared to 28 per cent on men, so 6 billion of the 8 billion cuts will fall on women. I don’t think it is right or fair, and I want to know if the government knew that when it put forward the budget, and if not why didn’t it look at the impact on women and children as well?”

Rachel Reeves MP said the challenge could be successful. “People in my constituency are already struggling to get by. As we bring down the deficit we need to do it in a fair way and the Fawcett Society are trying to ensure that the government take into account the impact on women and people with disabilities and ethnic minorities as well, in line with the new Equalities Bill, and none of these things has the government attempted to do.”

Footnotes:

1. Wpradio.co.uk is a web based broadcaster supported by all parties. Latest web stats show that in May 2010 we had our highest audience ever with 3,913 visitors, there were over 1,000 more visitors in June and July too compared to last year and even August increased. We don’t share our content with others in order to inflate our stats, you have to visit our website to listen to our content.

1. Our web stats show that our visitors are loyal, they return, tune in for some time and to more than one item. We have doubled our audience in a year. In July we published our Top Ten podcasts for that month. The top 8 all had over 100 downloads per podcast. Shirley Williams is hugely popular with 777 listeners to one podcast! The Oona King diaries are proving popular too.

1. wpradio also carries international content and has interviews with women MEPs in Europe, and women politicians in Africa and the Middle East.

1. Our supporters include Theresa May MP, Jo Swinson MP, Harriet Harman MP,and many other female politicians listed on our site. Jackie Ashley, of the Guardian, is our Chair.

1. The British Library archives all the interviews on wpradio.co.uk in its new web collection.

1. For more information contact Boni Sones OBE on 07703 716961.

End.

www.wpradio.co.uk looks at voting reform and more women in Westminster with Margot James MP, Jo Swinson MP, Angela Eagle MP

Press RELEASE

www.wpradio.co.uk

Women’s Parliamentary Radio

 

For immediate release

August 2^nd 2010

www.wpradio.co.uk looks at voting reform and more women in Westminster with Margot James MP, Jo Swinson MP, Angela Eagle MP

MPs will vote on the government’s plans for a referendum on AV the first day back after their summer break. Critics say our “First-Past-The-Post” voting system lets down female candidates because of the advantages it hands to incumbents. In the UK just one in five of our MPs is female. So will the new AV (“alternative vote”) system be any better?

Our Executive Producer Boni Sones OBE, asked three women MPs if changing the voting system would help women’s representation.

Margot James Conservative MP for Stourbridge, Jo Swinson LD MP East Dunbartonshire, Angela Eagle Labour MP for Wallasey, give their verdict on voting reform.

Margot James MP said: “I am really a supporter of the status quo I think I favour the “First-Past-The-Post” system for all its faults. Other systems have an inherent tendency to weak and constantly changing government and I feel also that the other systems tend to have politicians choosing governments rather than the electorate.

“I am in favour of the referendum I think it is something people should have the right to vote on and it’s something the LD feel very strongly about and they are part of the coalition, so I am quite happy to have a referendum next year but it’s not something I will be campaigning on myself.

“We’ve tripled our number of women MPs over the last Parliament in the Conservative Party so I have seen what works and what doesn’t. I don’t think the voting system has a huge impact, but it does to a certain extent.

“There is no doubt where a genuinely proportionate system of voting takes place it does seem to get more women elected but I’m not sure you can say it is causally related to the voting system. Also when you have a system where there is a multiparty list system like in the EU elections, where we got a lot of women in – that generates more women MPs, as do quotas. However, I favour positive action to encourage more women to come forward and to support those that do to develop their political skills and suitability for public office, that’s the way the Conservative party has gone and its born fruit.”

Jo Swinson MP said: “I have never thought that electoral reform is the great key to sorting out diversity in Parliament, I am big fan of electoral reform and a big fan of more diversity in Parliament and at the edges they can help each-other but certainly I think the main way to get more women in parliament and more people from ethnic minorities is to support them in standing as candidates. There is no suggestion that the public is dreadfully sexist, they are very happy to vote for women and for people from BME backgrounds, but the party has a lot more work to do to ensure these people get selected in seats they can win.

“In an ideal world STV is the best system, but to get a consensus AV has a lot of the advantages of STV in that it is preferential and it doesn’t break the link between the member and the constituency. I think people are looking for a system that is fairer rather than a discredited electoral system where in many seats you can’t get rid of an MP, they are totally safe.”

Angela Eagle MP said: “In my view it’s a red herring to say any particular voting system is any better than any other voting system for getting women selected and elected. There are mechanisms in any system for getting women selected in winnable seats to ensure they are elected and to argue that somehow you have to have STV so you get more women is a complete red herring.

“We know that with our “First-Past-The-Post” system, with a great deal of determination, the Labour party got All-women shortlists and fought that through our own structures. We had 101 women elected in the landslide of 1997 because of those efforts, you can ensure women get a fair look in whatever voting system you have you just have to be determined to do it.

“When I first came into the House in 1992 there were only 60 women out of 650 MPs, we aren’t that much further along now, although we have made good progress, so we have to ensure we keep this top of the agenda, and you need mechanisms to ensure that women have set seats women can stand in.

“With AV there is no particular reason why you would get a woman rather than a man unless you maintained the kinds of approaches that the Labour Party has taken to All-women sortlists in particular seats. It’s where you apply “the requirements” and you can require women to have a set place in an STV election by having alternative woman man, woman man lists. Or with “First-Past-The-Post” you can have All-women shortlists in the party doing the choosing in a set number of seats.”

AV allows voters to rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference. Anyone getting more than 50% of first-choice votes in the first round is elected, otherwise the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their backers’ second choices allocated to those remaining. This process continues until a winner emerges.

You can also listen to our 2008 ERS debate on electoral reform chaired by Jackie Ashley, our Chair, with Chris Huhne MP LD, Caroline Spelman MP Cons, and Labour’s Stephen Pound MP on www.wpradio.co.uk 2008 content page.

 

me

Women’s Parliamentary Radio goes to the Tricycle for “Women Power and Politics”.

PRESS RELEASE

www.wpradio.co.uk

Women’s Parliamentary Radio

For immediate release

June 11^th 2010

Maggie

Women’s Parliamentary Radio interviews are on display and can be heard in a new exhibition at the Tricycle Theatre in London at the “Women Power and Politics” programme of events.

Ten interviews by Linda Fairbrother, Anne Garvey, and Boni Sones OBE, can be heard through headphones along one wall of the exhibition.

Wpradio.co.uk has also just interviewed the Assistant Director, Amy Hodge and the Director Indhu Rubasingham, about the nine plays that are being performed in two parts.

Indhu Rubashingham, whose family are Tamils from Sri Lanka, which has a strong tradition of women in politics, having elected the first female Prime Minister in the world in 1960, laughed when asked if she was a “feminist”.  She replied: “I personally haven’t got an agenda, I am not a politician and I am not a policy maker. I wanted to ask “do we need more women to represent women or do we not?”, and to get people to think about it.

“The reason I am hesitating (on saying I am a feminist) is not whether I am a feminist or not, I don’t think that it’s important for the project…. I’m interested in the unheard voice and that may or may not be women.”

Amy Hodge thought differently, she said: “I am a feminist. The purpose of the project is to get people thinking and engaging in the debate and the plays.”

Boni Sones OBE said: “It was lovely to be able to work collaboratively with the organisers of the “Women Power and Politics” plays at the Tricycle and after seeing the plays I am hugely impressed with the intelligence, perception and wit of the playwrights and the quality of the acting, performances and the directing.

“As a team of journalists at www.wpradio.co.uk we have spent six years conducting interviews with women MPs across party in Britain and in Europe and Africa, and I didn’t think there was much more to learn, but there was! I found real insight into the political establishment that we are all part of both men and women. The plays are great and hopefully they will get the message out that there are still not enough women in Parliament or the Cabinet!

“Thanks to norn and their two London-based curators Ali MacGilp and Cassandra Needham for finding us on the web and tuning in. It shows the power of social media today, that we didn’t go to them they found http://www.wpradio.co.uk.”

The exhibition is a celebration of women who have made a positive political impact in the UK over the last century, whether within or outside governmental frameworks.

Incorporating rarely-seen archival material of the women’s suffrage movement; political activist Olive Morris’s campaigns for the rights of the black community; and the long battle of the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp against nuclear proliferation.

The exhibition also features a little-known 1974 film by the London Women’s Film Group which examines the status of women’s labour under capitalism.
The ten www.wpradio.co.uk interviews that can be heard at the Tricycle exhibition room are:

1. Caroline Lucas

In this two part interview, wpradio journalist Anne Garvey asked Caroline Lucas of the Green Party to spell out her hopes for a new global green agenda and women following Barack Obama’s success as President Elect in the USA, and Executive Producer of wpradio Boni Sones, talked to Caroline about the specific policies of the Green Party.

10 minutes 33

1. Baroness Shirley Williams

The Liberal Democrat Peer, Shirley Williams, has had a distinguished career in British politics. She was a member of the Wilson and Callaghan Governments in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1981 she co-founded the Social Democratic Party, becoming the first MP elected for the SDP in 1981. She is now writing her autobiography to be published next year. As the daughter of the renowned feminist Vera Brittan, it will no doubt contain many gems on British political history. Shirley has just delivered the annual Women’s Library speech celebrating 90 years since women got the vote. Here she tells Boni Sones, what she thinks of women’s political progress throughout the World.

16 minutes

1. A New Year wish for “Disarmament and Globalisation” from Baroness Williams
   of Crosby

Shirley Williams is an unofficial advisor to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, on Nuclear Proliferation and Safety. She was a member of the Wilson and Callaghan Governments in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1981 she co-founded the Social Democratic Party, becoming the first MP elected for the SDP in 1981. Here she tells Boni Sones, why disarmament is the most pressing problem the World now needs to address.

7 minutes 30

1. 4. Emily Wilding Davison

It is 90 years since women over 30 were first given the right to vote. In 2008, Women’s Parliamentary Radio is campaigning to get a plaque to the miltant suffragette Emily Wilding Davison at St George’s Church in Bloomsbury where her funeral procession started and a statue of her in Westminster. Writer and Producer Barbara Gorna has the sash Emily was trying to pin to the King’s horse when she was killed and she told Boni Sones why she wants it to be known Emily’s death was a tragic accident not suicide.

1. Fiona Mactaggart MP

Fiona Mactaggart the Labour MP for Slough, and former Home Office Minister, is an advocate for the reform of the Prostitution laws in this Country. She would like to see Britain adopt a model based on Sweden, where all paid prostitution is outlawed. In countries such as New Zealand, they have actually legalised prostitution, but Fiona says that won’t work here. She believes we need a total ban on buying sex to protect women and to stop the trade in prostitution and trafficking. In this extended interview, Boni Sones asked her why?

20 minutes

1. Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!

Is Margaret Thatcher the “Mother of the Nation” or the “Monster from the Blue Lagoon”?

That’s the question The Cartoon Museum in Bloomsbury, London, is asking from 6th May to 26th July with an exhibition of satirical cartoons of Britain’s first woman Prime Minister 30 years since her election. It features work by Steve Bell, Gerald Scarfe, Trog and many others for newspapers and magazines across the political spectrum. The cartoons reflecting her 11 years in power, were chosen by Steve Bell of the Guardian and one of her former trusted ministers, Lord Baker of Dorking. Clearly they find it hard to agree about her legacy but the exhibition brought out the humour in both of them. Boni Sones began by speaking to Lord Baker and then Steve Bell.

1. Chloe Smith MP for Norwich North

December 1, is the 90th anniversary of Nancy Astor taking her seat in Parliament

Chloe Smith the new MP for Norwich North is now the youngest MP in Parliament after being elected in a by-election in July this year. At 27 she is two years younger than the previous “baby of the House”, Lib Dem Jo Swinson, but Chloe insists “If you are good enough you’re old enough, the age isn’t the thing!”

Here our reporter Linda Fairbrother secured a special interview with Chloe, but first she visited Cliveden House in Berkshire, the former home of the first women MP to take up her seat in Westminster – the Conservative Lady Nancy Astor, where she spoke to Annette Scudamor, a National Trust guide.

1. Ann Cryer MP

Ann Cryer MP for Keighley, who is stepping down from Westminster aged 70, has gained a reputation for plain speaking and doggedness. Her husband, Bob, was an MP and when he died she decided to stand too, she was then followed into Westminster by her son John, becoming the first mother and son MP team in Westminster.

Here Ann tells Executive Producer Boni Sones about her suffragette grandmother, the roots of her political passions, and her much acclaimed work on Forced Marriages and now first cousin marriages.

1. Dr Evan Harris MP – women  and their right to the throne

The Liberal Democrat Equality Campaigner, Dr Evan Harris MP, attempted to introduce a Private Member’s Bill to modernise our monarchy by allowing a woman to be first in succession to the throne rather than being superseded by a younger male sibling, the so called rule of “primogeniture”. Dr Harris’s “Royal Marriage and Succession to the Crown Bill”  also wanted to allow those in the line of succession to the throne to marry a Catholic.  Boni Sones, asked Dr Harris, why his Bill was needed now?

10.  Dawn Butler MP

Dawn Butler, the MP for Brent has just been given a new job by the Prime Minster Gordon Brown as one of six Vice-Chairs of the Labour Party. She will work directly to Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman on youth issues and be involved with the new ministerial team at the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Dawn’s enthusiasm for campaigning is infectious. Boni Sones talked to her about her new role and her parliamentary career

Footnotes:

1. Wpradio.co.uk is a web based broadcaster supported by all parties. It has over 200 interviews with women and male politicians of all parties which can be listened to online or downloaded as podcasts.

1. In March 2010 monthly visits jumped to 3,847 visitors, and 73,796 hits. That’s over double the same period last year. Page views have increased by a corresponding amount. And February 2010 had the highest ever bandwidth usage with 120 Gigabytes downloaded.

1. Our web stats show that our visitors are loyal, they return, tune in for some time and to more than one item. We have doubled our audience in a year.

1. wpradio also carries international content and has interviews with women MEPs in Europe, and women politicians in Africa and the Middle East.

1. Our supporters include Harriet Harman MP, Theresa May MP and Jo Swinson MP and many other female politicians listed on our site.

1. The British Library archives all the interviews on wpradio.co.uk in its new web collection.

1. For more information contact Boni Sones OBE on 07703 716961.

End.

Speaking out and speaking up: The Class of May 2010 – the new Conservative women MPs

For immediate release

May 28th 2010

Women’s Parliamentary Radio

Speaking out and speaking up: The Class of May 2010 – the new Conservative women MPs

Four of the newly elected Conservative Women MPs have set out their agendas in the new Parliament of 2010.

Esther McVey MP, Karen Lumley MP, Priti Patel MP and Lorriane Fullbrook MP  have spoken of their support for  David Cameron’s and Nick Clegg’s Queen’s Speech and the £60 billion of cuts to the public sector deficit. At the same time they have spoken up for the need to give top priority to promoting local business and industry in their constituencies.

While supporting the women’s and families agenda set out in the Speech to promote flexible working across all age groups and to pursue further avenues to reduce the pay gap for women, they say that they will ensure that men’s issues are given a voice too where they are single parents and breadwinners on their own.

When questioned about the earlier announcement by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition that defendants in rape trials would be granted anonymity they said they would fight for justice for the victims of crimes and that they wanted to ensure those convicted were given appropriate sentences.

All spoke to Boni Sones OBE, Executive Producer, of www.wpradio.co.uk in two head to head interviews.

The Queen’s Speech – Flexible working, equal pay, changes to the rape laws.

Esther McVey the Conservative MP for Wirral West, a television presenter and businesswoman said:

“Freedom, fairness and personal responsibility, were the principles underpinning this Queen’s Speech. David Cameron was very strong on Flexible Working hours saying let’s have that as a World leader paving the way forward, and it is difficult if you are a woman looking after children and parents. We need to look at why are families breaking down, what’s the best for children, what’s the best support network? It can only be good for Society.”

On the pay gap she said: “If you are doing the same job as a chap, of course you should be getting paid the same amount, I guess for so long people have not known what others are paid. I ran the biggest business network in the NW now called “Forward Ladies” and they have been lobbying for that.”

On crime, Esther McVey MP said: “I have worked with Families Fighting For Justice set up by a mum Jean Taylor whose son and daughter were killed and they want sentences that reflect the crime. They want tougher sentencing and education in schools, so I will be working on these.”

On rape law changes she said: “Any crime that goes unpunished is a travesty, the victims need to feel they are being listened to.”

Karen Lumley the Conservative MP for Redditch, an accountant and businesswoman who was the youngest Tory group leader in Wrexham said:

“I was delighted to see the fact we are going to recognise marriage again in the tax system that was a big vote winner in Redditch, and flexible working and caring will definitely be liked; it will allow people to look after their children and go out to work too. I do really welcome this and David’s views on getting new investment in and tax breaks too.”

On her forthcoming Maiden Speech she said: “ I want to make reference to education, in Redditch we are the fourth lowest funded County in the Country and we get less than others and that is not fair and we need to address that.

“Anybody would be nervous….being here is amazing and this was my third go at fighting the Redditch seat.”

Their Maiden Speeches – the local economy

Lorraine Fullbrook the Conservative MP for South Ribble the former Executive Director of the Women2Win campaign and a former local councillor and businesswoman said:

“I will be looking at defence and the workers in South Ribble. Many of my constituents work for BAE systems and the defence industry and they will find in me a strong defender and supporter, I will be fighting on their behalf.

“Horticulture is another issue where we need to look at the infrastructure to get the goods to market, government imposed taxes, vehicle excise duty, fuel duty, business taxes are making life difficult for these people and they grow our food.”

Lorraine Fullbrook MP said her constituents liked the new coalition government:

“My constituents are very pleased with the way we have taken this coalition forward and they feel their vote has counted. They do understand about the cuts, that we are all in this together and there is a belief that we are able to deliver.”

On gender issues she said: “Single fathers need as much help as single mother’s do, there are many women serving in our military in Afghanistan who have husbands back here so it is not just about wives it’s wives and husbands too on these issues.”

On rape law changes she said: “I am concerned about the low conviction rates in rape cases and that has to come down to policing policies.”

Priti Patel the Conservative MP for Witham a former press and PR advisor and an economics graduate said:

“I have some serious roads the A12 and A120 that are in a terrible condition and if housing is increased and population it will put severe pressure on our infrastructure. I will be campaigning on this.

“I come from a family of independent retailers and I will be talking about the role of the independent retailers who have been clobbered by too much red tape and taxes, we need to enable these people to get on and be the business contributors again.”

She said there was support for the £60 billion cuts package in her constituency:

“People do recognise there isn’t a credit card saying HM Government, people do understand that something has to give but they are looking for fairness in the decision making as to where the cuts fall.”

On gender issues she said: “It is about making the case for how you reach that decision I would not look at things from a gender based position it is about advocacy and I want to hear all points of view.”

Footnotes:

1. Wpradio.co.uk is a web based broadcaster supported by all parties. It has over 200 interviews with women and male politicians of all parties which can be listened to online or downloaded as podcasts.

1. In March 2010 monthly visits jumped to 3,847 visitors, and 73,796 hits. That’s over double the same period last year. Page views have increased by a corresponding amount. And February 2010 had the highest ever bandwidth usage with 120 Gigabytes downloaded.

1. Our web stats show that our visitors are loyal, they return, tune in for some time and to more than one item. We have doubled our audience in a year.

1. wpradio also carries international content and has interviews with women MEPs in Europe, and women politicians in Africa and the Middle East.

1. Our supporters include Harriet Harman MP, Theresa May MP and Jo Swinson MP and many other female politicians listed on our site.

1. The British Library archives all the interviews on wpradio.co.uk in its new web collection.

1. For more information contact Boni Sones OBE on 07703 716961.

End.