A high-profile female Conservative candidate has survived a deselection vote, following claims about her private life.

The vote against Sue Catling, of West Yorkshire constituency Calder Valley, was forced by 40 local party members after stories about her private life appeared in local newspapers.

The vote, attended by about 100 local Conservatives, confirmed her as their candidate.

TORY WOMEN

About 8% of Tory MPs are women Nine women will stand in nearly 60 'winnable' seats at the next general election Party chairman Theresa May has not ruled out a future 'quota' system to ensure more candidates are female

Ms Catling, who is 45 and married with two children, had denied the allegations - which she said were part of a sexist smear campaign.

Ms Catling halved Labour's majority in Calder Valley at the last election in 2001, losing the seat by only about 3,000 votes to Labour's Christine McCafferty.

But she has said that since then, she has faced sexism and opposition from some local party members.

Following the ballot, she called for unity within her local party, and said she would now concentrate on beating her opponents in the other political parties.

Minister's intervention

The vote will be seen as a relief for party leader Iain Duncan Smith.

Conservative Central Office have publicly backed Ms Catling, and the party is making efforts to encourage more women to stand for Parliament.

The local squabble saw the intervention of former Conservative minister Gillian Shephard, who visited the area to warn that the internal row could cost the party the Calder Valley seat in the next election.

Getting more women... is absolutely crucial Tory chairman Theresa May

Conservative party chairman, Theresa May, recently said that encouraging more female candidates was "crucial" for the party's future.

She has not ruled out a quota system - such as 50% women shortlists - for candidates, although such a move would be resisted by traditionalists.

There are currently 118 women MPs in the House of Commons, of a total of 659 members.

Of the Conservatives' 166 MPs voted in at the last election, just 14 were women - about 8%.

Only nine women have been selected by the Tories to stand in nearly 60 seats considered winnable in the next general election.