Cabinet so far, so white, so male

UPDATE: Theresa May named as Home Secretary… and Minister for Women & Equality (@newsaboutwomen quips “I wonder why she’s expected to do two jobs? Is she going to be Minister for Women in her spare time, when she’s not Home Sec”). Also see May’s abysmal voting record.

boysown.gifDavid Cameron is beginning to name the Cabinet for the Tory-Lib Dem coalition. Thus far, only white men have been named to any of the posts. And the BBC’s list of ‘others expected’ to make it into the Cabinet are similarly white and male.

There are still some posts to be announced, but it’s not looking good so far. The inclusion of the lefty Lib Dems in the coalition is not going to make much of a difference on this score, given their own lack of women in senior ranks.

As the Centre for Women & Democracy just tweeted:

Women in European cabinets: Spain 53%, Germany 37%, France 33%, Neth 33%, Italy 27%, Greece 26%, Belgium 23%, Portugal 13%, UK so far 0%

Since Gordon Brown’s resignation, all the contenders for Labour party leader also seem to be … wait for it… white and male (Harriet Harman has ruled herself out of the race).

The overall representation of women increased, but slightly this election. The Conservative party saw Helen Grant elected, the party’s first Black woman MP.

Shabana Mahmood (Labour) and Yasmin Quresh (also Labour) became the first Muslim women MPs.

Meanwhile, “one in eight new MPs in the class of 2010 have a background as a private sector consultant”, the Guardian reports. Among the Tory MPs, 3% has a background in education, compared to 22% in business. “More than half (54%) of elected Tories in 2010 attended fee-paying schools, compared with 40% of the Lib Dems and 15% of Labour.”

When it comes to policy, on the ridiculous ‘marriage tax break’, the BBC reports:

The Conservatives will recognise marriage in the tax system, but Lib Dems will abstain in Commons vote

On spending cuts:

There will be a “significant acceleration” of efforts to reduce the budget deficit – including £6bn of spending reductions this year. An emergency Budget will take place within 50 days