Mandu Kate Reid[3] (born 1981) is a Malawi-born British politician and activist who was the leader of Women's Equality Party (WEP) from April 2019 until its dissolution in November 2024[4].
Early life and education
Reid's mother is BlackMalawi and her father is White British. Her parents met while her father was teaching English in Malawi, where Reid was born. The family moved to the United Kingdom in 1982, but subsequently lived in Somalia and Eswatini (better known as Swaziland), before returning to the UK, where Reid attended sixth form.[5][6] Concerning her growing up in Eswatini, Reid said that being a mixed-race child led to awareness in childhood of injustice and prejudice.[6]
While at school in England, Reid experienced racist abuse as the only black student in her school.[7]
Reid founded The Cup Effect in 2015, a period poverty charity which campaigns donates menstrual cups to women and girls struggling with period poverty in the UK and East Africa.[8][9][10]
Political career
Reid joined the Labour Party in 2010, but later moved to the Women's Equality Party (WEP) in 2018.[11] As a member of WEP, Reid stood in the 2018 Lewisham East by-election,[11] coming fifth and losing her deposit. Despite not being a parent at the time, Reid has supported equal parenting policies and flexible working as the party spokesperson on equal parenting since 2018.[11] Reid has spoken publicly about her abortion, which was what sparked her interest in equal parenting policies and promoted her to pursue a career in politics.[8] Talking about her abortion, she said:
It is strange to me, when I reflect on it now, that neither of us could imagine a scenario where I wasn't the sole caregiver of the child and the main breadwinner....I crunched the numbers and realised at that point in time, I couldn't balance being a single mother and hold on to my career aspirations...so I had a termination. It wasn't an easy choice.[8]
In April 2019, Reid took over the interim leadership of WEP,[12][11] and was confirmed as party leader in January 2020.[13] She has been described as "the first black, bisexual leader of a political party in the UK".[12][14]
Reid was the party's candidate for the 2021 London mayoral election, having replaced Sue Black, who had to withdraw for health reasons.[16] She came tenth and lost her deposit.
^"THE CUP EFFECT - Charity 1166618". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
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