Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Bill
10:30 am
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead, Conservative)
I echo the Minister's comments in welcoming you, Mrs. Adams, to the Chair. This is the first time that I have had the opportunity to serve under your chairmanship and I look forward to it.
As the Minister said, although we have limited time to debate the Bill, it is short and has a limited number of amendments. However, we need to explore some issues to ensure that consensus opinion across the House prevails. We all share the Bill's aim of increasing the number of women in Parliament, but we need to ensure that action taken under the Bill cannot be challenged.
I hope that the Minister will recognise that, in the subjects that I and my hon. Friends have chosen to raise, we wish to be constructive—he said that he hoped that our proceedings would be expeditious but constructive. We intend to explore some options to ensure that action taken under the Bill cannot be challenged at a later date. I agree with the Minister that, as was made clear on Second Reading, the Bill is important because it will ensure an increase in the number of women in Parliament. That view has been echoed outside as well as inside the House.
The fact that the Bill is short shows that significant legislation can have a real impact, not only on the House but outside, without being lengthy with lots of clauses and subsections. It is possible that short legislation can nevertheless have a significant effect.
I echo also the Minister's comments on the importance of ensuring that the Bill goes through Parliament in an expeditious fashion, although properly scrutinised. It is important that we put it on the statute book in good time, because political parties are starting their selection procedures for forthcoming elections; they are looking forward not only to the next general election but to other elections. It is important that political parties should be able to take the opportunities presented by the Bill.
I support the programme motion, which will give us sufficient time to explore the issues that we need to explore, and to challenge the Government when they need to be challenged. We want them to be absolutely clear about the effect of such an important Bill; we also want to ensure that our consensus continues.