Most parties field four men for every woman

Northern Ireland has its best chance in more than 30 years of returning a woman to Westminster, according to the Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics at Queen's University, Belfast.

Twenty per cent of the province's candidates are female, including the Women's Coalition's Monica McWilliams, professor of women's studies and social policy at Ulster University.

On the mainland, 23 per cent of Labour's candidates are female, compared with 20 per cent for the Liberal Democrats, 15 per cent for the Conservatives, 25 per cent for the Greens, 22 per cent for the Scottish National Party and 18 per cent for Plaid Cymru .

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