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Green Party Candidates
Campaign To Lift Ban on Job share MPs Begins
SARAH Cope and Clare Phipps' request
for joint candidacy submitted to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council on
Thursday, 9 April 2015, was rejected by the Electoral Returning Officer on the
grounds of a ban on job shares for MPs. Neither Cope nor Phipps would be able to
serve as a full time MP. Cope is the main carer for 2 young children, and Phipps
suffers from a disability which would prevent her from working full time.
Allowing job share MPs has been Green Party policy since 2012. In 2010 Caroline
Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, used her 1st speech as Green Party Leader
to call for the post of Member of Parliament to be opened up to job shares to
encourage more women MPs and make Westminster politics more accessible to
ordinary people.
Cope, 36, is a mother of 2. She has been an active member of the Green Party for
over a decade and is the chair of Green Party Women, the women's sub-group
within the party. Cope said:- "Allowing job share MPs would open up
Parliament to a much more diverse group of people, including more women, those
with childcare and other caring responsibilities and those with disabilities. At
a time when people are disenchanted with 'business as usual' politics, it is an
idea which could re-engage people. If voters have the chance to vote for people
who are more like them, and who can relate to issues within their lives such as
living with disabilities, or coping with caring responsibilities, they may be
more likely to engage with the democratic process."
According to the Green Party, Phipps is aged 26. She is researching gender and
health as part of a part time PhD and job shares a position on the Green Party
Executive. Since 2009 she has suffered from a disability known as idiopathic
hypersomnia, a chronic condition which means she sleeps for around 12 hours a
day. "It is now almost 100 years since women were 1st able to vote; yet
The Electoral Reform Society predicts that on 8 May 2015, only 30% of MPs will
be women. At this rate of progress, a girl born today will be drawing her
pension before she has an equal say in the government of her country. It's time
our government reflected the people it is representing. Allowing job share MPs
is just one way we can change politics for the better."
Phipps and Cope argue that preventing their joint candidature contravenes their
Convention rights, including the right to respect for their private and family
lives and the requirement of respect for rights and freedoms without
discrimination on the grounds of disability. Following the formal
rejection of their application for candidacy, Phipps and Cope are seeking legal
advice and will be continuing their campaign to become job share MPs.
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