Labour reserves 10 more seats for female MPs

Labour leaders agreed yesterday to reserve at least 10 more parliamentary constituencies for women candidates but paved the way for Ed Balls, Gordon Brown's closest aide, to become an MP.

The party's national executive committee (NEC) ruled that 10 of the constituency parties where the sitting Labour MP will stand down at the next general election will choose their new candidate from an all-women shortlist.

The seats include Burnley, a move killing speculation that Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's director of communications and strategy, will try to become the MP for the home of his beloved football team. The decision is a setback for Shahid Malik, an NEC member also linked with the seat.

But Mr Balls, the Treasury's chief economic adviser, will be able to seek the Labour nomination in Normanton, Yorkshire, where the contest will be open to men and women. The other nine seats are North East Derbyshire, Hackney South and Shoreditch, City of Durham, Gateshead & Washington West, Portsmouth North, Worsley, Leeds North West, Halifax and Kingston upon Hull North.