Party leader sets goal for 50% of Labour MPs to be women by 2020

Party leader tells committee he backs all-female shortlists and is determined to have 50/50 representation by next election.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has called for all-female shortlists to achieve equal representation in parliament and wants to aim for the same in public offices, as part of a series of wide-ranging measures to address the under-representation of women in public life.

Labour – which has 43% female MPs – risks losing 23 sitting MPs as a result of the 2018 Boundary Commission review, while more than 20 female Labour MPs could face deselection, according to the committee.

Corbyn said the party would take steps to achieve “50% of women’s representation in the next parliament”, leaving open the possibility that all-female shortlists will be put in place in safer seats.

A Labour spokesman confirmed the party’s support for all-female shortlists, but said decisions on how to achieve parity in the party would have to be resolved at the national executive committee.

Go to The Guardian for more information.