Letter: Spotlight turns to women MPs

RE: "Missed opportunity to increase number of women MPs" (News, 9 May). The press release submitted by Engender (with analysis by Edinburgh University) stated that 11 of the 13 Scottish women MPs elected belong to Labour (rather than nine, as stated in your article). They are joined by one Liberal Democrat woman MP and one SNP woman MP.

Meryl Kenny, Edinburgh University

TUCKED away among your main election results coverage was a complaint from Engender that an opportunity had been missed for equality in numbers of male and female MPs. You wrongly describe this group as "anti-sexist" when they are the opposite, seeking discrimination against men where none exists against women.

Ominously for democracy, they advocate greater use of "equality measures", ie, artificial undemocratic devices favouring women. No individual or group has any right of entry to parliament, although application for candidacy is open to virtually all. There is no logical argument whatever for any ratio of male and female MPs.

Implementation of such equality would be a logistical nightmare. It assumes an even number of seats, but specific constituencies would have to be allocated to either all-male or all-female candidates. Who would make that decision? Is any party to be denied representation in the event of no-one of the approved sex applying to represent them?

This is plainly unconstitutional political correctness, but a parliamentary debate on the issue would be enlightening.

Robert Dow, Tranent