Who should women vote for?

WOMEN want to vote on Thursday, they just can't decide who to vote for.

A survey by the UK's largest women's website, iVillage.co.uk, found that while 80 per cent of women will vote in the General Election, around 30 per cent have no idea where to put their cross - making them highly influential swing voters.

So what are the main parties doing to encourage them to swing in their direction? We asked candidates standing in York to pinpoint three reasons why women should vote for them.

Hugh Bayley, Labour

Labour has increased maternity pay to £106 a week (up from £55 in 1997) and extended paid maternity leave from 18 weeks to six months. If re-elected, we will extend paid maternity leave to nine months in 2007, with a goal of 12 months by the end of the next parliament, and will give flexibility to parents over who takes the leave.

Around 3,500 York children have benefited from Labour's pledge to deliver free part-time nursery education for all three and four-year-olds; the Working Tax Credit also provides help towards childcare costs for 7,900 families in York. Under Labour, City of York Council received £646,000 in Sure Start general grants to provide new childcare places, out-of-school clubs and neighbourhood nursery projects. A further £1.84million has been allocated to York for 2004-6.

A report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies shows that, for the first time, pensioners are now no more likely to be living in poverty than other age groups. We have increased basic state pension by £5 a week for single pensioners (£8 for couples) on top of inflation and the pension will increase every year by 2.5 per cent or inflation - whatever is higher.

Labour's Pension Credit guarantee pledges that no pensioner need live on less than £109 a week and if re-elected pension credit will continue to be up-rated in line with earnings, improving the lives of the poorest pensioners. More than 5,000 pensioners in York receive Pension Credit on average of £35 a week.

Clive Booth, Conservative

We are offering help to carers looking after a loved one aged more than 65, or if they are over 65 themselves. They will receive a £500 rebate on their council tax or their council tax will be halved, whichever means they pay less.

We are offering help to people on fixed incomes, most notably pensioners. They will get an increase of £11 a week in state benefits. This increase will be indexed not just against inflation, but also earnings. All other current entitlements will also be protected.

My wife and I are trying to raise two small children in York, so we know how important our Supporting Families initiative is. Working mothers will receive £169 a week in maternity pay to help with childcare. We estimate that this will immediately benefit 250,000 women. If women choose to stay at home to look after their children we will come up with a more flexible way of maintaining their National Insurance contributions.

Andy D'Agorne, Green

We want to give our families and children the best future we can - the Green Party's programme is for the next 100 years, not just the next 100 days.

Our policies to tackle climate change will also reduce pollution, waste, energy use and air miles, improve health, food quality, public transport and will save money.

Our unconventional Citizen's Income would allow everyone to choose how to balance their lives between education, childcare and paid work, cutting out complex and wasteful benefits systems.

Richard Jackson, UKIP

Education: The teaching profession is dominated by women and their working conditions would be enhanced by our policies. We would give more autonomy to our state schools to allow teachers freedom over how to teach and what they want to cover outside the curriculum. We would leave schools to organise their own intermediate testing and leave the decision to exclude unruly pupils to the head teacher while providing sufficient specialised facilities for excluded pupils.

Health: The NHS is dominated by women workers who will benefit from our policies. We would remove the government from day-to-day management of NHS facilities, return to the 'matron' system with a single manager responsible for all care and accommodation and open GP surgeries in the evenings and at weekends when working people can visit.

Welfare: Ukip is committed to reform of Britain's welfare arrangements: it is ludicrous the state doesn't help when help is most required. Unfortunately it is usually women, mainly single parents, who need genuine help and they are expected to jump through hoops to get any help.

Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat

We will introduce childcare centres and extend pre-school and after-school care to all schools. We'll also extend nursery provision to all three and four year olds.

Women will receive a minimum income of £170 a week for six months after having their first child.

We will ensure that women have equal pensions, removing discrimination against women who take time off to raise children and, in the process, don't maintain their National Insurance contributions.

Updated: 09:21 Tuesday, May 03, 2005