Liberal Democrat leaders are facing frustration in their efforts to increase the number of women standing as candidates for the party.

Just five of the Lib Dems' 52 MPs are women, and while most delegates agree that number should rise, there are sharp divisions on how that should be achieved

Delegates at the party's conference in Brighton will be voting on a proposal to ensure that at least 30% of the party's European election candidates are women.

But some Liberal Democrats see that as a step back after half their candidates for the 1999 European elections were female.

Efforts to increase the number of women standing for the party are backed by leader Charles Kennedy and other senior figures.

But last year conference gave the leadership a slap in the face by rejecting calls for all-women shortlists to be used to choose parliamentary candidates.

Shirley Williams backs moves to increase the number of female candidates

The conference agreed instead to set up a task force to examine ways of encouraging more women to stand.

Mr Kennedy is urging officials to work harder to attract more women into the party and is likely to reiterate his concern during his keynote address to delegates at the party's conference in Brighton next week.

Shirley Williams, the Lib Dems leader in the House of Lords, last year warned the party that it had written "the second longest suicide note in history" when it rejected plans for all-women shortlists last year.

Support for women

This year's conference is expected to be told that it is unlikely the parliamentary party will be representative of women by the next election.

A number of training sessions targeted at helping women get selected, including advice from filling in application forms to planning a winning campaign, will run throughout the conference.

Sandra Gidley, MP for Romsey, chairwoman of the Gender Balance Task Force, is set to outline ways of supporting women seeking selection.

Last year, opponents argued that using all-women shortlists was illiberal, but campaigners for the change insisted they were the only way to address the gender imbalance.

The row is set to emerge again as those opposing affirmative action seek to scrap their use against the leadership's wishes.

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Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Matthew Taylor will be answering your questions during the party's conference next week in Brighton.

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