Women's Equality Party
The idea was conceived by Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig at the Women of the World Festival, when they concluded that there was a need for a party to campaign for gender equality to the benefit of all.[10] Interviewed by Jenni Murray on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Toksvig said: "I had a fantasy cabinet of women, and I didn't care which party they came from, we had Doreen Lawrence as our Home Secretary.[16] A second meeting took place at Conway Hall on 18 April, and included Sandi Toksvig, Mandy Colleran, Nimko Ali, Shabnam Shabazi and Stella Duffy as speakers.[25] Two candidates were nominated: interim leader Sophie Walker[26] and Magda Devas, who had previously run for the Green Party in the Streatham Wells ward in the Lambeth London Borough Council election of 2010 and that of 2014.[24] She was replaced by interim leader Mandu Reid, the party's national spokesperson on equal parenting and caregiving, its candidate in the 2018 Lewisham East by-election, and the CEO of period poverty charity The Cup Effect.[33] Describing the six aims, Mayer said: "It's a very narrow palette, we're not looking to be a party that can answer questions about what should be done in the Ukraine, or trying to have a platform on the environment or anything else, we are focusing absolutely narrowly on that equality agenda.[35] Early indications of what to expect included Walker's call for a gender quota system to select MPs at the following two elections so that equal representation could be achieved in the House of Commons by 2025.[37] Writing in the Daily Mirror, Toksvig stated that the party further proposed that industrial tribunal costs be reduced from over £1,000 to "£50 for those who can afford it" in order to "empower all women to speak out about sexism at work.[45] Other speakers at the Conference included CEO of the Young Women’s Trust Carole Easton, psychologist Carolyn Kagan, former President of the National Union of Students Shakira Martin, sexual harassment lawyer Dr. Ann Olivarius, and Swedish politician Gudrun Schyman.[53][54] Walker told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement programme that the party would be taking a non-partisan approach to elections, stating that "We will be undertaking consultations with our members and deciding which seats to target".[58][62] Supporters of the WEP's election bid included: Emma Thompson,[63][64] Lily Allen, Hugh Quarshie, Tanya Moodie, Philippa Perry, Jack Monroe,[65] Jo Brand, Rosie Boycott[66] and Caitlin Moran.The best result among them was by Sophie Walker coming fourth in Shipley against the sitting Conservative MP Philip Davies, a men's rights and anti-political correctness campaigner.Academics Emily Harmer and Rosalynd Southern write that: "Targeting Davies was controversial due to fears over potential vote-splitting and the fact that the WEP failed to engage with local feminist groups".The party stood 14 candidates in the local elections of 2023.Note 3 Kay Wesley was re-elected to Congleton Town Council for the South East Ward (925 votes, a 12.2% share and 43.3% voters supporting on multi-vote ballot) and a second party candidate, Susan Mead, elected in Congleton North East (702 votes, a 15.3% share and 45.7% voters supporting on multi-vote ballot).Wesley narrowly missed election to Cheshire East Council by 19 votes (polling 1132, an 11.5% share and 30.2% of voters choosing WEP on multi-vote ballots).[105][106] The WEP was described as "the fastest growing political force in the UK" in a Daily Telegraph article on the party's campaigning for the May 2016 London mayoral election.[117] A year before the creation of the WEP, Suzanne Moore suggested in The Guardian that a feminist party should be formed, saying: "the false doctrine of austerity has meant that women, single mothers in particular, and public sector workers in general, have been at the frontline of this war."[118] Writing in The Telegraph, Kate Maltby responded by saying, "My feminism is directly tied to a commitment to meritocracy and individual flourishing...if her [Moore's] grand new feminist party kicks off by nationalising private property, I'm hardly going to be able to sign up".[125] Heather Brunskell-Evans, the former spokeswoman for the party on violence against women and a research fellow at King's College London,[126] was criticised in 2017 for expressing transphobic viewpoints on transgender children.Speaking on The Moral Maze on BBC Radio 4 in 2017, she argued that transgender adults should be free to define themselves as they wish, but questioned whether positive affirmation was the only way to help children expressing confusion about their gender.
Women's Equality Party (New York)Women's PartyLeaderMandu ReidSandi ToksvigCatherine MayerRichmond, LondonIdeologyFeminismPolitics of the United KingdomPolitical partiesElectionsfeminist political partyWomen of the World Festivalgender equalitySophie WalkerBasingstoke and Deane Borough CouncilCongleton Town CouncilTown MayorSouthbank CentreJude KellyKatie GhoseElectoral Reform SocietyMargot JamesConservativeStella CreasyLabourJo SwinsonLib DemInternational Women's DayJenni MurrayBBC Radio 4Woman's HourDoreen LawrenceHome SecretaryparalympianTanni Grey-ThompsonSports Ministerlast electionSuzanne MooreHalla Gunnarsdóttirwomen's equality party in IcelandGlamourLondon Evening StandardTEDx TalksYouTubeConway HallMandy ColleranNimko AliStella DuffyThe News Quizpolitical partyHay FestivalThe One Showabuse onlineElectoral CommissionReutersShipleyPhilip DaviesGreen Party2018 Lewisham East by-electionGreen Party of England and WalesHouse of CommonsDaily Mirrorindustrial tribunalmisogynyAbortion ActCarole EastonCarolyn KaganNational Union of StudentsShakira MartinAnn OlivariusGudrun SchymanKetteringPeople's VoteBrexitgender self-identificationTrafalgar SquarePride in London2015 general electionBBC Radio Walesnon-partisanMember of ParliamentUK Independence Party2016 London mayoral electionZac Goldsmith2016 London Assembly electionMayoral electionScottish Parliament electionGlasgow regionLothian regionWelsh Assembly electionSouth Wales CentralEmma ThompsonLily AllenHugh QuarshieTanya MoodiePhilippa PerryJack MonroeJo BrandRosie BoycottCaitlin MoranNethertonLiverpool City Region mayoral election2017 general electionHornsey and Wood GreenNimco AliManchester WithingtonStirlingTunbridge WellsVale of GlamorganVauxhalllocal elections of 2018Bury SouthLuton NorthSheffield HallamCities of London and WestminsterLiberal Democratslocal elections of 20192021 London mayoral election2021 London Assembly electionLothianGlasgow2021 Scottish Parliament election2022 City of London Corporation electionlocal elections of 2023