Date published: 2006/05/07
The BBC says:
The Labour Party has apologised to the people of Blaenau Gwent for imposing an all-woman shortlist on the constituency in the 2005 general election.
Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said that while he thought having an all-woman shortlist was an honourable objective, Labour "got it wrong".
Mr Hain told BBC Wales' Politics Show he was issuing the apology on behalf of Labour at the highest levels.
Independent Peter Law defeated Labour's Maggie Jones at the election.
Blaenau Gwent was Labour's parliamentary seat in Wales, but Mr Law overturned a 19,000 majority in defeating Ms Jones.
Mr Hain said on Sunday: "I'm saying sorry to them (people in Blaenau Gwent). We got it wrong last time.
"We sought to present a choice of women only and we over-rode local party wishes and the wishes of the people of Blaenau Gwent.
"The first law of politics is you listen to the people.
Hain seems to be one of the few semi-sane people in the Blair government, which is why he's marooned in Wales. But this (supposed apology) is quite extraordinary. The main problem with all-woman shortlists is not that they are blatantly sexist but that the people who have directly benefitted from past discrimination against women, i.e. sitting male MPs, are the ones who are imposing discrimination against men who are not currently MPs. Two wrongs hardly make a right. The people who have benefitted from discrimination in the past should be the ones to suffer.
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