General election: Record number of women set to stand as candidates

More than half of Labour candidates are female compared to less than a third of Tories and Lib Dems

A record number of women are standing in the December general election – but their numbers still make up only a third of candidates.

Of the 3,322 candidates registered, 1,120 are women – equivalent to 34 per cent. Both the total number and the proportion of female candidates have increased since 2017, when 973 candidates out of 3,304 were female (29 per cent).

There are significant differences between the parties, with women making up more than half (53 per cent) of Labour candidates, compared to less than a third (30 per cent) of Tory candidates.

The Liberal Democrats are also struggling on gender balance – only 31 per cent of its candidates are women.

The Brexit Party has the lowest proportion of female candidates; more than four in five of its prospective representatives are men.

The Press Association analysis also revealed that Nigel Farage’s party is not standing in most Scottish seats and will field only 245 candidates across the country, despite his pledge to have candidates in every seat except the 317 that the Conservatives are defending.

The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru will both field fewer candidates than in 2017 because of their Remain alliance pact, which will see pro-EU parties stand aside for each other in some areas.

Ukip has seen the biggest drop in candidates since the last election, with just 45 people standing for the party on 12 December compared to 467 two years ago.

The finding came as Hillary Clinton criticised a “heavily misogynistic” online culture that she said was deterring women from becoming politicians.

Speaking at Swansea University, the former US secretary of state and presidential candidate said: “Unfortunately, the atmosphere online is heavily misogynistic because [of] the people – and it’s predominantly, though not exclusively, men – who spend their time going after women of prominence in whatever field they are in and just can’t let it go.

“What they say is often vile, and when I was in London over the last few days, a number of people told me about women not standing for parliament this time because of the threats they have received. And it’s really particular to them. Threats of death and terrible attacks, including going after their families, in particular mentioning their children.”

She added: “It is a terrible loss and a loss to democracy if anybody is intimidated out of running, and disproportionately the people choosing not to run in the first instance or for re-election are women.”

Several high-profile female MPs who are standing down at this election have cited the abuse they received as a reason for their decision to quit.

Police chiefs have announced that candidates will be given security briefings to help them avoid being attacked while out campaigning.

Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “As with every election, police will work to prevent and detect crime, and enable the democratic process to proceed unhindered.

“We take this role extremely seriously. Abuse or intimidation of candidates in elections has serious implications for individuals and for our democracy.

“All police forces will offer security briefings for candidates and have a senior officer responsible for this.”