EAST Lancashire’s female leaders have urged others not to be put off going into politics because of sexist abuse.

Their message comes as Diane Abbott, the Labour party’s shadow home secretary, has spoken out about her own experiences of recent threats and insults.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP revealed she receives racist and sexist abuse online on a daily basis.

Mrs Abbott, who was first elected in 1997, said women may be deterred because of what others have been through.

Julie Cooper, Burnley’s MP, said more women were needed in politics to have a fairer representation of the population.

She said: “It never put me off going into Parliament as I always felt very determined to get to where I wanted to be.

“But I have many friends that would make great councillors or MPs who don’t have the confidence to go forward because of abuse received by others.

“It’s sad to say it now comes with the territory.

“When Diane was first elected the figure was 23 female MPs out of 650.

“The number has risen to 195 but that is still less than a third of the total amount.

“It’s a very male-dominated world and Parliament still has an aggressive, shouty nature.

“When I was leader of Burnley Council I remember sitting in meetings and I would be the only women there, it did feel odd.

“The UK is pretty much 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men and Parliament should reflect that.”

The Labour Party has 130 female and 100 male MPs and the Conservative Party has 69 female MPs and 261 male MPs.

The Scottish National Party has 20 women and 36 men in parliament.

There are five female MPs and 27 male from other parties.

Cllr Alyson Barnes, leader of Rossendale Council, said the rise of social media has changed the landscape where abuse comes from.

She said she gets more and more abusive comments on Facebook and Twitter.

She said: “It is quite upsetting reading comments as people can get very nasty and say some awful things.

“I welcome criticism about policies as it is right and proper for people to challenge councils’ decisions.

“But personal abuse is not nice at all and it’s worrying to see what people say about you.

“You have to be tough in politics, but personal abuse is uncalled for. I worry about the mental health of some people because of how horrible the things they said about me.

“I have been in the job since 1999 and if I was stepping into politics now, I would like to say it wouldn’t put me off, but there are lots of reasons why it would.”

“More women need to get into politics, it’s important and healthy for everyone they do.”