Mandatory "all-wimmin" shortlist, and "non-white" shortlists to be legalised?

Oh Lordy! The Times is reporting this morning that the Speakers Conference (a cross party review chaired by John Bercow) that was commissioned by Gordon Brown to investigate the under-representation in the Commons, has recommended that "all women shortlists" for candidate selection should be made mandatory to "up the numbers".

Even more bizarrely, the review has also called for the law to be changed so that political parties can exclude white candidates when drawing up their shortlists. Apparently, according, Harriet Harman, the Minister for Equality,

"We should take all the steps we can to increase diversity in Parliament, which must reflect the country in which we live and the public we serve."

And if that means discriminating against those that you think are over-represented on the grounds of gender or race, then so be it?

Seriously, my apologies for the Anglo-Saxon, but this is starting to become fucked up beyond belief now. Discrimination laws, racial, sexual or otherwise, were introduced in this country by Labour governments. We now have a Labour minister for "equality" who is more than happy to discriminate against groups to create "diversity".

It's starting to be beyond parody now, and frankly, it's actually getting a little bit worrying. It seems there is this belief that everything, even man, can be perfected in some way.