Portcullis: Equal opportunities to be Poet Laureate?

One of the first official posts to be affected by Harriet Harman's planned new equality drive could be the ancient role of Poet Laureate. Gordon Brown is said to be sympathetic to a campaign that aims to get a woman appointed for the first time to the historic post, which has been filled by Wordsworth, Tennyson, Sir John Betjeman and Ted Hughes. The Queen makes the appointment on Prime Ministerial advice and the annual stipend of £5,000 and 630 bottles of sherry – the modern equivalent of a butt of sack – would be the same whichever sex got the job, say government sources. The post, which used to be for life but now lasts 10 years, falls vacant next year at the end of Andrew Motion's tenure. But leading women poets Wendy Cope, Fleur Adcock and Ruth Padel appear to have ruled themselves out. Lavinia Greenlaw is among those... [read full story]