Labour deputy leadership: Angela Eagle calls for more diversity at top of party
|
Version 0 of 1. The Labour deputy leadership candidate Angela Eagle has called for the party to be bolder in pushing people from diverse backgrounds into prominent and powerful posts. Eagle, who became Britain’s first openly gay female MP when she came out in 1997, said Labour had often made principled yet unpopular decisions to improve the lives of women, people from ethnic minorities and the LGBT community, only to see the Conservatives “grab the glory” once public opinion had shifted. Her comments will be seen as a way of forcing the issues of diversity and representation into the deputy leadership race. She is one of three female candidates for the role and is the only out lesbian. Eagle said Labour should grab back the agenda of minority rights and that her election would help “smash the glass ceiling” for LGBT people. “Diversity is an important part of what the Labour party stands for. But it is obvious that we do not always get the credit for the work that we do. People talk about Margaret Thatcher being the first female prime minister, but we could easily have had a first female prime minister in Barbara Castle. “And there is a pattern. We as a party have laid much of the groundwork on women’s issues, on LGBT issues and on the representation of BAME people. We have forced through laws which were unpopular at the time, and made stands on principle because we believed in them.” Related: Eagle sisters fly high at Westminster Eagle welcomed David Cameron’s decision to argue in favour of gay marriage, but said it was Labour that stuck to its principles before LGBT rights were widely acknowledged. “We came into government in 1997 with an agenda of LGBT rights. We did all the heavy lifting when it wasn’t popular. When we repealed Section 28 [in 2003], there were few Tories who agreed with us. “We should be bolder about speaking about our success on these issues and pushing people from more diverse backgrounds into influential positions. I hope I demonstrate by example that it is important.” Eagle, the MP for Wallasey, said she would welcome an influx of LGBT supporters, or their financial support, as part of her campaign to become deputy leader. “I would always encourage people to join the party. If a quarter of a million LGBT people get involved, that would be good.” Eagle was one of the youngest MPs in parliament when she was first elected in 1992 at the age of 31. Since then, she has been a minister and shadow minister in four different departments, been the vice-chair of the parliamentary Labour party, and chaired party conference, Labour’s national executive committee, and its national policy forum. She has been at the forefront of the argument for quotas within the party and scored notable successes when tackling the Tories from the floor of the house. After challenging the prime minister over NHS reforms, he was roundly criticised for telling her to “calm down, dear”. Her decision to stand as deputy leader has been welcomed by many old hands within the party, who believe she has managed the Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband regimes with humour and loyalty. Eagle expressed her regret at the party’s failure to put forward a single BAME candidate in the current leadership and deputy leadership campaigns. Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, pulled out of the leadership contest within days of announcing that he was going to run, citing personal reasons and the unexpected level of media attention. Rushanara Ali dropped out of the deputy leadership campaign last week after it became clear that there were too many candidates for each to achieve the 35 votes needed from MPs. Related: I have fought against the odds and won, and I will do so again for Labour | Rushanara Ali Eagle said the party’s rules may need to be re-examined if it is to bring in more candidates from different backgrounds. “It is unfortunate that we have no one from a BAME background in either election. Things are changing in the party, but not fast enough. “Rushanara did a very selfless thing. She wanted to open up a narrow choice and so she stepped down. It became narrow because each candidate needed so many nominations from MPs. We may need to look at the voting system again.” Stella Creasy, Ben Bradshaw and Eagle made it on to the ballot having been on 31, 28 and 25 nominations respectively. Caroline Flint qualified comfortably with 41. Tom Watson is currently the bookmakers’ favourite to win. |