Clegg's wife in call for more women MPs during campaign visit to Newtown
The wife of Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has called for more female MPs in the House of Commons.
During a visit to Mid Wales, Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, herself an international lawyer, said she wanted more professional women to enter politics to make parliament more representative of the population.
She was speaking while visiting Montgomeryshire Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Jane Dodds at Newtown Community Garden yesterday.
Ms Gonzalez Durantez said she wanted all parties to look at recruiting more female candidates who could make women's voices heard.
After helping volunteers at the garden weed flower beds and vegetable plots and piping a ganache filling into chocolates at local cake shop Patisserie 13, she said: "I am here because I think Jane is the kind of person we want to see in parliament.
"She is a fantastic, experienced, professional woman who wants to make her community's voice heard in parliament and that is exactly what I want.
"There is currently only about 25 per cent female MPs and this should be higher, it should be more representative of the wider public."
Ms Gonzalez Durantez, who speaks three languages and met her husband through flamenco dancing, also said she wanted to protect the NHS in rural areas such as Mid Wales.
"I have talked in depth about this to Jane and she says maternity services especially are important around here and I know the Lib Dems will do all they can to ensure it is a priority," she said.
"We have some fantastic midwives in this area, but we need to support them as much as we can," said the mother-of-three.
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"We also need to support places such as Newtown Community Garden which will have a knock-on impact on health.
"People in general and especially children need to learn more about where their food comes from and what is healthy. I have a small garden in London, but we are often away in August so miss things like tomatoes coming ripe, but it is vital and I like to show our three boys where food comes from."
She also said that husband Nick is feeling confident and relaxed ahead of next week's election. "It is a busy week for myself supporting him and a busy week for Nick, but he is feeling good and confident. I am happy to get out and support the Liberal Democrats because I believe in what the party stands for and I want them to be in the centre of politics. I believe in how they help people and it will be a busy week ahead, travelling the country, but hopefully it will all be worth it come next week.
"I would say to people thinking of voting Lib Dem to look at how we are supporting people like Jane Dodds and how passionate we are about what we stand for."
Miss Dodds also launched her Welsh Lib Dem six-point plan for breaking down barriers for women during the visit. She said: "I am proud of the achievements made by Liberal Democrats in government in championing the rights of all women and girls to reach their potential at home and abroad.
"More women are in work than ever before, women have secured more than a third of all recent FTSE100 board appointments and by introducing shared parental leave we have challenged the out dated system which prevented dads from playing a full role in their child's life.
"Liberal Democrats believe society should give equal opportunities to women from all walks of life and across all generations. We are ambitious about what can be achieved so that every girl and woman has the chance to get on in the world. That ambition starts with removing barriers.
"I launched the Welsh Liberal Democrat six point plan to remove the barriers which too often stand between girls, women, and opportunity."
She added: "It is vitally important that there is a better proportion of women in parliament. One in four is not enough. I will stand up for women and help them break down barriers."
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