This morning I did a turn on Nick Ferrari’s breakfast show on LBC. He wanted to talk about why I wanted to be a politicians and why so few women got to the top of the greasy pole….and so few survived.

When I thought about it, I realized that there would be many more at the top if the number of women entering politics increased at the bottom. The City and big corporations have all been able to entice more women into their ranks and then successfully plug the leaky pipeline…..that is all that has to happen in politics.

What women need is practical help coping with their responsibilities. We are the sandwich generation and often have to cope with young children and aging parents. What about making childcare tax deductable? Shirley Conran once said that the biggest boost to the feminist movement was the washing machine…..how right she was.

And what about making politics appealing - at least to the point where women can understand its relevance to our lives.

I am not in favour of positive discrimination because I don’t think it is necessary if enough women participate. It really is a numbers game.