AN East Renfrewshire politician has made a commitment to increase the number of Scottish Conservative female election candidates if he is successful in his bid to become the party's new leader north of the border.
Jackson Carlaw issued the pledge at a meeting with Scottish Conservative MSPs Annie Wells, Liz Smith, Alison Harris and 'Team Jackson' campaign co-chair Rachel Hamilton.
Under the Eastwood MSP’s interim leadership, 40 per cent of Scottish Conservative candidates at the 2019 UK General Election were women - the highest figure in the party’s history.
Out of a total of 59 candidates at that election, there were 23 female Scottish Conservative candidates.
However, Mr Carlaw said more needs to be done to ensure that talented candidates from a variety of backgrounds become MSPs in 2021.
He said: “As a party, we are proud to have talented female candidates across Scotland, with many standing for the first time in 2019.
“I am also proud that we fielded a record number of female candidates in constituencies across the country. Whilst this is progress, there still is work to do.
“I want to make sure this progress continues so that we get the right people into Holyrood by helping those with talent and ensuring that our MSPs in 2021 are truly diverse and representative of Scotland, in every sense.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article