Political parties constitute the ‘control zone’ through which those who eventually end up as local councillors must pass. In England, Wales and Scotland over 85 per cent of councillors belong to a political party; the rest are independent or supported by non-party groups such as residents associations. Besides this, 95 per cent of local councils are male dominated, almost 92 per cent of councillors are white, and only three per cent of local council seats are held by minoritised women – falling far short of the nine per cent which would reflect their share of the general population. These figures suggest that political parties favour white men. They also imply that British women, and racially minoritised women in particular, must face myriad obstacles in their quest to run for elected office in local government. Based on an empirical study undertaken in 2023-2024, addressing the under-representation of racially minoritised women in local government, this paper seeks to understand the factors leading to the failure of minoritised women to get through party selection processes or be placed in winnable seats if selected. The research found that although minoritised women face many of the barriers structured by macro-level factors (electoral systems, the organisation of political parties and dominant cultural beliefs about women’s role in society) as their white British counterparts, an important interplay of micro-level factors shape their experiences of gendered and anti-Muslim racism which are often compounded by specific forms of patriarchy practised within some minoritised communities. Drawing on 27 interviews with aspiring, incumbent and former minoritised women councillors, this paper focuses on the micro-level factors operating in local politics which can determine the individual journeys of minoritised women who put themselves forward as prospective local election candidates. In doing so, it addresses a gap in knowledge about local political engagement and representation which shows that racially minoritised women have largely fallen through the space between white women and minoritised men.
