MALVERN’S MP Harriett Baldwin is planning to continue her campaign to deliver important constitutional reform to the Houses of Parliament after getting a slot in the ballot to bring forward a Private Members’ Bill.
The West Worcestershire MP was one of 20 MPs who will be able to bring a Private Members’ Bill forward although only the first seven in the ballot are expected to get time in Parliament to be debated.
Mrs Baldwin has twice brought a campaign to the House of Commons in this Parliament to allow daughters to inherit hereditary peerages in the House of Lords, overturning the last bastion of constitutional sexism at the ‘mother of all parliaments’.
The principle of male-only primogeniture means that one-eighth of the seats in the House of Lords are reserved exclusively for men.
The issue was remedied by the Crown in 2013 which abandoned primogeniture before the birth of Prince George and yet the House of Lords continues to drag their heels on this constitutional anomaly.
She said: “I have twice brought forward legislation to attempt to end constitutional sexism in the House of Lords but been thwarted by time.
“I pledged to do all I can to redress this historical imbalance and I am intending to use my place in the Private Members’ Bill ballot to continue this work.
“There is no place for sexism in any workplace and I’ve been hearing harrowing evidence as part of the Treasury Select Committee investigation into sexism in the companies operating in City of London.
“It is a stain on Parliament sexism still exists in the House of Lords and I will continue to speak out until this issue is permanently resolved.”
