Playing The PC Game

Part of the problem with UK politics is that the Conservatives have, for years, thought that the key to coming back to power has been to become Labour-lite. Nowhere is this seen better than in the current leader David Cameron.

Here's his latest attempt to out-PC the Labour Party-

David Cameron yesterday insisted a third of jobs in a Tory government would go to women - despite a backlash from party traditionalists.

Dismissing criticism that his top team is too male, the Conservative leader said: 'The fact is we've got more women in the Shadow Cabinet than Labour have in their Cabinet. We have more than 80 parliamentary candidates who are women.'

But he added: 'I am under no illusions. The Conservative Party has still got a long way to go before our party fully reflects Britain as it is today.'

Mr Cameron said he had redesigned the system for selecting candidates for elections to the European Parliament, so that the first vacant place in every region goes to a woman.

'If straightforward positive discrimination is about closing doors to those who don't fit the new mould, positive action is about opening them to those we want to welcome,' Mr Cameron said.

Never mind merit of course.

Mr Cameron's promise of 'positive action' has also dismayed some women MPs, who said they wanted to be promoted on the basis of talent rather than gender.

And get this- although positive discrimination is supposed to be illegal there is, of course, an exception for the Prime Minister.