Alan Johnson might have a problem with women but looking at the figures, Hilary Benn is in even bigger trouble. Here’s the latest analysis from the Revolts.co.uk web site:
“Hilary Benn has a problem with women
Based on the first trance of nominations, there is a clear gender divide in the nominations for the Deputy Leadership. Both of the two female candidates draw more than half of their support from women MPs (52% of those nominating Hazel Blears are women, 53% of those backing Harriet Harman). None of the male candidates come anywhere close. Some, however, did much worse than others. Some 19% of Johnson’s supporters so far are women, 18% of Jon Cruddas’s, and 12% of Peter Hain’s. But just 6% of those backing Hilary Benn are women. Who’d've thought someone called Hilary could do so badly with women? ”
Fascinating.
4 comments ↓
It’s a curious world – the news that Britain is one of only two rich nations to meet its international development obligations came on the same day that it was revealed that Mr Benn doesn’t yet have enough nominations (from either gender). Could it be that Hilary has spent too much time getting on rather effectively with his job and too little ingratiating himself with his fellow MPs?!
Had to be said, Benn managed to get heckled this evening at the deputy leader debate when discussing the merits of women as he saw them. Looks less surprising when you see this analysis.
It looks as if, as a trouble-maker magnet, john cruddas should have no trouble picking up gwynneth dunwoody. : )
oops, prolly shouldn’t have said that…
i’m clueless at real politiks, but gwynneth greatly endeared herself to me with her pithy and unexpected deconstruction of frank field’s blatherings on national insurance identity fraud…
in retrospect, it may have been better for john prescott if he hadn’t been deputy…in the sense that it would be best for hazel blears not to be deputy…
the pretty much 50/50 split between women MP’s votes for hazel and harriet is interesting…
i do think it’s important to get representative government and it’s also very important to get the most able people in place for what are, let’s face it, very difficult jobs. being a ‘representative’ of a gender, race or class, in person, doesn’t necessarily make a person is the most able…and i think that most voters are more than capable of going beyond the immediate personal attributes of a candidate as criteria for vote casting, unless they perceive a real problem in under-representation or influence…this is an old argument i don’t especially want to get into again…
your man john cruddas, inspite of being a white male, has worked out a very valid mission on representation and inclusiveness, and seems to be the only candidate with an awareness of these issues and something to say about it…i agree with what he’s saying. i guess that’s approval. : )
I think it’s impossible to read anything into what MPs have decided in terms of nominations. The YouGov poll at the end of April put Benn in the lead in a survey of 1,137 party members — an 18-point gap among women between him and the nearest candidate.
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