WOMEN from York working men's clubs have yet again been left out in the cold by "archaic" men.

Members of the Club And Institutes Union (CIU) have agreed at their annual conference in Blackpool to maintain the 100-year-old ruling which bans women from taking up associate membership.

Current CIU rules mean that while women can join working men's social clubs, they cannot hold an association card that would allow them access to any of the union's huge network of clubs. Women trying to go to other clubs need to be signed as a guest, and cannot take part in CIU-sponsored activities such as darts and dominoes. Although more than 61 per cent of CIU members voted to scrap the ban, this fell just short of the required two-thirds majority.

Chrissie Winspear, secretary of Holgate Working Men's Club, said she was "not surprised" by the decision.

"It will be a cold day in hell before women are allowed in," she said.

"These men are just stuck in the past and archaic. All the women at our club would get a pass card if they could. I can't see the rules being changed for a good few years."

John Bacon, a member of Bishopthorpe Social Club, addressed the Blackpool conference to call for the abolition of the rule.

He said: "What binds all of us is a community - a community of clubmen, strong in our views and bold in our convictions. Surely 50 years is long enough to debate this issue. Let us put it to bed. Please give women their equal right to sit beside us and to back us up."

Former campaigner Jackie Medley, former secretary of Bishopthorpe Social Club, travelled to Blackpool in 2004 for the vote, but was made to wait outside as she was not permitted to enter the conference under the union's rules.

She has now moved away from York and left the fight to others, after becoming disillusioned.

Updated: 09:12 Tuesday, May 09, 2006