Is this legal?

[anotheoldgit]

It would seem that the BNP is breaking the law by admitting only white members to their party, yet the High Peak Labour Party see nothing wrong in banning men from the selection process of finding a candidate to replace a Derbyshire MP.

http://news.bbc.co.uk...erbyshire/8401520.stm

/// He said the women-only short-list showed the party was serious about equality ///

I can't quite see that somehow, am I missing something?

[Gromit]

Labour stealing the Conservatives policies again

http://www.independen...ortlists-1806259.html

The problem is that women are under represented in Parliament. Though I disagree with women only shortlists in principal, the system we have at present ends up with mainly men being chosen. It is debatable whether the best person becomes an MP, but the present system also seems to delivered 3rd rate MPs (by all parties).

[New Judge]

There is no such thing as positive discrimionation, there is only discrimination.

To discriminate in favour of one group is to necessarily discriminate against another. Discrimination (on the grounds of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation) is illegal. However, there are many instances where so-called positive discrimination is rife.

The practice breeds resentment and division and should not be proposed by government or any political party, however laudable their aims.

[Androcles]

There will always be a problem with this in terms of qualification for the position. Which is more important, being able to do the job or being part of an under-represented group?

I am more interested in my surgeon or pilot being qualified to do the job. The thought that somebody is carrying out something sensitive, but only got to do it because they were white, black, green with yellow spots, of a particular sexual orientation etc is alarming. Having said that there is also the problem that being member of a group may DISqualify them - eg your Jumbo Pilot celebrates his 96 birthday tomorrow or your surgeon is from a religious group which does not believe in this kind of operation (Catholic required to carry out an Abortion?)......

[LazyGun]

This idea of women only lists has been around for quite some time, and i have never understood why such lists do not contravene the various anti discrimination laws we have in this country.
They may well have a laudable intent, such as correcting large imbalances in representation, a good example of which would be the under-representation of women in parliament, but such instruments as women- only lists are discriminatory,clumsy and often anti-democratic, riding roughshod over the local party interest and breeding resentment against any candidate successful through such a mechanism.
I would have thought that such initiatives, like the whites only policy of the BNP, are illegal, and I have never understood why they never seem to be challenged in court.

[youngmafbog]

Who cares? If you do and you live there then dont vote for her. That'll stop it if it is wrong.

[1ARMEDBANDIT]

The Labour party did the same in Blaenau Gwent a few years ago by giving the electorate a woman only list to vote from and they got a thumping in the polls. Labour didn`t listen and lost their safest seat in the UK.
I had the impression then that the electorate voted against Labour for their arragance for forcing it upon us and not against women in particullar.