The IWA's Auriol Miller is the latest public figure to point out the disparity between male and female representation on local councils, not to mention the under-representation of minorities.
The latter is by far the trickier area. Does one build in reserved places for ethnic minorities, people with disabilities or those of a particular sexual orientation on local councils? Would those be sufficient categories? Would voter prejudice against minorities be replaced by resentment at otherwise well-qualified people being excluded?
In my experience, the under-representation of women is on its way to being corrected. It now needs the two conservative parties in Wales to set a better example. The Conservatives in England have had two female leaders, but no female MS has even approached the throne of the Welsh Conservatives. Labour has had more prominent and able female MSs, but as yet has failed to follow the example of the Welsh Lib Dems in electing the first woman party leader here (Kirsty Williams) followed by another in Jane Dodds, or of Plaid Cymru. Where the national parliament leads, surely local government will follow.
What can happen when the ball rolls unstoppably is evidenced by the Lib Dems in Westminster where women represent nearly 70% of their MPs and by Labour's just over 50%. The last two by-election wins (Sarah Green in Chesham & Amersham and Helen Morgan in North Shropshire) have merely exaggerated a trend that was already there. I look forward with interest to the results in Wakefield and Tiverton when these by-elections are eventually called.
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