LABOUR’S frustrations that just a third of its MPs are women are understandable. It is hard to escape the conclusion that in politics as in many walks of life, selectors tend to recruit in their own image and often that is a male one. Nevertheless the announcement that men will be barred from contesting Hugh Bayley’s seat in May is bound to cause controversy.

Ahead of her party’s final annual conference, before next year’s general election, Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman said while she was “really uncomfortable” with the policy, “everything else” had failed.

But does that really justify such a course of action? Many people, both male and female, believe candidates should be judged on their merit, not their gender, and that to do otherwise is both unfair on men and condescending to women. It is a difficult balance to strike, but we believe what most people in York would want to see is that the best person for the job – man or woman – became Labour’s candidate for the city.