Nearly twice as many men as women standing in May elections in UK
Summary
In the upcoming UK elections on May 7, almost twice as many men as women are standing as candidates for local, mayoral, and devolved government positions. Women make up about one-third of all candidates, with no political party reaching equal numbers of male and female candidates.Key Facts
- About 34% of candidates in English local elections are women; no party has a 50/50 gender split.
- Women make up 18% of mayoral election candidates, 38% in the Welsh Senedd elections, and 36% in the Scottish Parliament elections.
- Labour has the highest proportion of female candidates in local elections at 42%; Reform UK has the lowest at 23%.
- The 20 most common candidate first names for local elections are mostly male; only one female name, Sarah, appears.
- In Scotland, some parties like the Scottish Greens (60% women) and Labour (50% women) have more female than male candidates.
- The data comes from 26,813 candidates with gender identified by names or specification.
- Campaigners say the lack of female candidates means women’s views may be underrepresented in local government decisions.
- Online abuse is mentioned as a reason some women avoid standing for election.
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