IT IS ADMIRABLE that Labour politician Greg Hadfield wants to see more women on candidacy lists for next year’s city elections and indeed more taking an active role in politics.

As the country marks the centenary of women finally getting the right to vote, Mr Hadfield is quite right to highlight the issue, but it is equally important to stress that we live in a democracy.

Whether you liked her or loathed her, the fact of the matter is that Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female Prime Minister against all the odds in 1979.

She succeeded not because she was a woman but because she was the best candidate and had a will of steel.

Theresa May is our Prime Minister now and again proved herself a formidable opponent within her own party when she outsmarted the likes of Michael Gove and Boris Johnson.

She has certainly had plenty to deal with since then, most notably Brexit, which of course led to the downfall of her predecessor David Cameron when the electorate voted “Leave”.

Both Mrs May and Mrs Thatcher deserve much credit for battling their way to the very pinnacle of their chosen profession and they certainly have set a template for women who dream of following in their footsteps.

Women should be on shortlists too, whether it be on the national political stage or locally. But candidates, whether they be male or female, would surely not want to be selected because of their gender, race or sexual orientation.

That is the crux of the matter. What the electorate wants is politicians who represent them to the best of their ability. It is what matters most.