A QUESTION Time-style panel was held at County Hall yesterday to mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage with a discussion of current women’s issues.

Pembrokeshire Question Time was organised by Cllr Tessa Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Social Services, organised the debate.

“I am really hoping this event sparks some food for thought around equality, women’s rights and feminism,” she said.

She said more needed to be done to encourage women into Pembrokeshire’s politics, where only eight of the 60 county councillors are female.

The panel consisted of Bernadine Rees OBE, Chair of the Hywel Dda Health Board; Sharron Lusher, Principal of Pembrokeshire College; Bethany Roberts, Chair of the Pembrokeshire Youth Assembly; Sue Leonard, Chief Officer of PAVS, and Cllr Pat Davies, Cabinet Member for Housing and Regulatory Services.

L-R: Kim Puhl from the Elections team, Sue Leonard, Cllr Tessa Hodgson, Bernadine Rees, Bethany Roberts, Cllr Paul Hughes, Pat Davies, Sharron Lusher, and Oonagh Cassidy from the Elections team. PICTURE: Martin Cavaney.

County councillors and PCC officers, members of the Pembrokeshire Youth Assembly, staff and students from Pembrokeshire College, and Pembrokeshire archivists were present in the audience.

Cllr Paul Harries chaired the debate.

Panelist gave their views on misogyny in the 2016 US presidential election, all-women political shortlists and positive discrimination, and their role models.

Education and opportunity was also an important topic.

“I think from my perspective there are three things we need to do to look at the choices our girls and young women – and our young men – have throughout their education,” said Sharron Lusher.

“The first is information.

“The second is providing meaningful choices.

“The third is perhaps realising we don’t need to do everything at once. It is not absolutely necessary to do everything in a straight order or that we try to do it all at the same time. “

Toward the end of the debate, chair Paul Harries asked if the audience thought young people should have the vote at 16.

This followed from a discussion of the similarities between denying women the vote and denying 16-year-olds the vote.

Most of the audience agreed, but some did not.

Cllr Mike Stoddart gave a view that 16 year olds should possibly have the vote, but only if they were working and paying taxes.

“What about adults who don’t pay tax?” came the reply from Ysgol y Preseli student Nell Blacklaw-Jones.

The full Pembrokeshire Question Time is available via webcast.