Mary Macleod MP: Injustice in Downton Abbey. Why women should have equal rights to peerages

Mary Macleod is the Member of Parliament for Brentford & Isleworth.  Follow Mary on Twitter.

In two weeks’ time, it will be Derby Day. Perhaps a good time to remember - as you sip your Pimm’s and huddle under your brolly - that 100 years before, in 1913, Emily Wilding Davison fell under King George V’s horse Anmer on Derby Day, sustaining injuries which caused her death.  Her tactics were controversial, but her aims were pure: she was a militant suffragette devoted to the emancipation of women and the cause of equality.

Despite Miss Davison’s death, women didn’t get the vote in the UK until 1918, when women over the age of 30 who met minimum certain property qualifications were enfranchised. And it wasn’t until 1928 that all women over 21 got the vote, bringing equality at last with men.

Of course, equality isn’t just about being able to vote. Further legislation was required to ensure gender equality in action:  the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and as recently as three years ago, the Equality Act 2010. Still that’s all done and dusted now isn’t it? Well, incredibly (in my opinion), no it’s not.

Because in 2013, there are still women whose inequality is enshrined in law.  Whose situation is not only troubling and surprising, but also carries worrying implications for the validity of the constitutional process.

Mary Macleod MP: Independent broadcasters deserve a level playing field in the television market

Mary Macleod is the Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth. Follow Mary on Twitter.

Everyone knows that London is the world’s top financial centre, but perhaps more easily forgotten is that it is also one of the great hubs for the creative industries. 

Last weekend’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the upcoming London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics are prime examples of what this city can achieve. Yet after the Olympic fanfare has died down, London will look again to rely on its strengths, and our creative sector will remain a major focus and driver for the UK economy. We therefore need to ensure that conditions which have fostered its impressive growth are maintained and developed. 

A recent report by London & Partners, the capital’s official promotional agency, stated that London’s creative industry is its second largest sector. It is worth £20 billion a year and responsible for generating 16% of the city’s annual gross value added. Almost 400,000 people work in London’s creative industries, with 20% directly employed in broadcasting, as well as film and video. This adds up to a third of the whole of the UK’s creative jobs. 

London also boasts access to some of the best graduate talent and many of the country’s independent broadcasters employ hundreds of technicians, planners and producers. The capital has a unique combination of skilled workers, cultural diversity, vast services, hi-tech infrastructure and direct access to wealthy consumer markets. These are perfect reasons why creative businesses should get their foot in the door, today.