Half of all Conservative candidates should be women, party chairman says

Mr Hands said he «supports the party's push for a 50/50 split»; Photo: Geoff Gilbert for The Telegraph

Half of all Conservative candidates should be women, the party chairman has said, vowing to «do something» about the gender imbalance.

Greg Hands said he was «… very » is concerned about the lack of women selected by the Tories to date to stand in the next general election.

According to the House of Commons library, only a quarter (24 per cent) of Conservative MPs elected in 2019 were women, compared with 51 per cent of Labor MPs returning that year.

Mr. Hands told the Tory House website: “This issue worries me very much. And I fully support the party's commitment to 50/50 equality.»

The 50/50 target for potential MPs was unveiled by Brandon Lewis during his tenure as Conservative Party chairman in 2018, although Mr Lewis insisted on the fact that it does not introduce a quota or shortlists consisting only of women.

Asked if he was “concerned” about current inequality, Mr Hands replied: “I am very much. Things continue to improve, but we are a long way from achieving parity in representation.

“I didn’t want to go down the route of something like all-female shortlists or anything like that, but Me I'm concerned about the number of women elected, and I'm looking at different ways we can do something about it.”

More female board members

Mr Hands said the Tories needed more female councilors and cited Nicky Aiken, the party's deputy chairman, as an example of a local leader who went on to become an MP.

In the same interview, Mr Hands has revealed he received “hate mail” after Carol Vorderman tweeted about his involvement with the lifestyle firm, which was awarded a £25.8 million personal protective equipment (PPE) contract during the pandemic .

The former Countdown star was eventually removed. a number of messages and clarified in a statement that “there was no wrongdoing on his part.”

Accusing Ms Vorderman of making “completely untrue” comments, Mr Hands said: “ I started to hate mail through the door.

«I'm no snowflake, but I just thought, 'Enough is enough,' and took action.»

He also refused to put a figure on current Conservative membership party, which he said could lead to «constant comments about whether membership numbers have fallen or risen in response to different things.»