The Women's Equality Party (WEP) was a feminist political party set up in the United Kingdom in 2015. 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. The launch meeting was on 28 March 2015 under the title "The Women's Equality Party needs you. But probably not as much as you need the Women's Equality Party". The party's full policy was launched by its then-leader Sophie Walker at Conway Hall on 20 October 2015. In January 2020, Mandu Reid took over as the party's leader.
On 8 March 2015 (International Women's Day), at the same festival, comedian Sandi Toksvig presented an event entitled "Sandi Toksvig's Mirth Control: Stand Up and Be Counted".[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. Can you imagine anything more wonderful? We had paralympianTanni Grey-Thompson as our Sports Minister, and I asked them to put forward practical suggestions. The world is in a parlous state, 9.1 million women failed to vote in the last election, we need to attract them, we also need to attract the more than 7 million men who didn't vote. Why are people not engaged in politics, because I don't think that the people standing represent the diversity of this country."[11] Mayer phoned Toksvig, and the two agreed to become co-founders of the party.[12]
On 30 April, Toksvig announced that she was leaving her position as compère of Radio 4's The News Quiz in order to help set up the new political party, which was now named the Women's Equality Party.[18][19][20] Speaking at the Hay Festival in May, Toksvig reported that since she had announced the move on BBC One's The One Show, she had been subjected to a significant level of abuse online.[21]
The Women's Equality Party was registered with the Electoral Commission on 20 July 2015.[22] On 22 July, Reuters journalist Sophie Walker was announced as the party's first leader.[12][23] Walker went on to stand in Shipley at the 2017 general election, but lost to Conservative Party MP and men's rights activist Philip Davies.[24]
Leadership contest 2018
The party announced its first leadership contest in December 2017. Nominations opened on 5 January 2018, and closed on 24 January.[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.[27] The ballot opened on 14 February 2018, and closed on 6 March; Walker was declared the winner on 8 March.[25]
Walker had been due to serve a five-year term until 2023[29] but resigned 10 months later, stating "sometimes in order to lead, you have to get out of the way".[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.[30]
Decision to dissolve party
In October 2024, it was reported that the party's founders planned to dissolve the WEP pending the approval of the party's membership in November, citing financial difficulties and changes in the political environment. The party then had about 5,600 members and 24,000 registered supporters.[4] This reportedly followed a failed attempt by the leadership of the WEP and the Green Party of England and Wales to formalise a partnership, with the motion to allow this failing to muster support at the Green Party conference.[31]
At a special conference on 17 November 2024, 78% of members voted to dissolve the party, surpassing the 75% threshold for this vote to pass.[32]
Political aims and views
The party's mission statement opened with: "Equality for women isn't a women's issue. When women fulfil their potential, everyone benefits. Equality means better politics, a more vibrant economy, a workforce that draws on the talents of the whole population and a society at ease with itself".[33]
Equal representation in politics and business;
Equal representation in education;
Equal pay;
Equal treatment of women by and in the media;
Equal parenting rights;
An end to violence against women.
— Women's Equality Party, six stated goals of the party[23]
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."[9] Party leader Walker agreed: "We won't have policies on other issues. We are going to concentrate, laser-like, on all of the above, to make them happen. And we will welcome people from any other political party that agrees with our values of diversity and inclusivity to work with us."[34] However, Walker promised that the party's working definition of the word "woman", as well as more detail of the party's policies, would be covered in its policy launch, following consultation with party members.[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.[36] Walker also called for six weeks' paid leave, at 90% pay, for both parents after having a baby, as well as an extra 10 months of shared leave at statutory pay.[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."[38]
The party launched its full set of policies on 20 October 2015 at Conway Hall.[39][40]
First party conference
The inaugural Women's Equality Party conference took place in Manchester on 25–27 November 2016,[41][42] with opening speeches by founders Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig on the first day,[43] and Sophie Walker's leader's speech on the second day.[44]
Motions carried at the conference include: a motion to expand the UK's definition of hate crime to include misogyny; a motion to strengthen the legislation for carers who need flexible working arrangements; and a motion to fully decriminalise abortion across the UK (the current Abortion Act excludes Northern Ireland).[45]
A seventh goal of the party was added to the existing six at the party's first conference.
Equality in healthcare and medical research. — Women's Equality Party, additional goal of the party.[46]
Second party conference
The second party conference took place in Kettering in September 2018.[47] Among the motions passed was one supporting the People's Vote campaign calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union.[48]
Abortion
The party supports removing abortion from criminal law and supporting safe access to abortions.[49]
Position regarding gender self-identification
In November 2022, the party voted in support of a motion to back gender self-identification. Of the party members who took part in the vote at the party's conference, 138 voted in favour of gender self-identification, while 29 opposed, and 5 abstained.[50]
The party's name
The party's name was "debated and discussed at two public meetings".[51] When Toksvig was asked why the party was named the Women's Equality Party, rather than just the Equality Party, she answered: "Because there is a huge issue, women are certainly not equal.... It's time that women, finally, after all these years, what is it, almost a hundred years since we finally got the vote, it's time we stepped up and took our equal place in society." She also stated the party's motto, "Equality is better for everybody".[11] Mayer has also stated, "I'm very happy with the name: all genders are joining us and I hope they continue to. More than half the population is living in inequality and that is genuinely not good for everyone, economically or culturally."[52]
The party did not field any candidates in the 2015 general election, but planned to do so when the next election was assumed to be in 2020.[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".[55] Figures from the party suggested that there was a possibility that an existing Member of Parliament (MP) might defect to the party before the party contested an election, citing the example of how the UK Independence Party got its first MPs.[9] although this did not happen. Initially Walker neither ruled in or out the possibility of a WEP candidate in the 2016 London mayoral election: "We'd like to. It's a £20,000 losable deposit, though. If you're Zac Goldsmith that's not such a big deal but if a woman from a normal background wants to speak out for women and do it with the mayorship, automatically she's almost excluded". However, in October 2015, the party announced its intention to field candidates in the 2016 London Assembly election.[56]
The WEP did not win any seats in the elections: Walker gained 53,055 votes (2.04%) in the first round of voting for London mayor.[68] The party's best result was on the London-wide list where it finished sixth with 91,772 votes (3.5%).[69]
Anne Beetham gained 2,091 votes (0.8%) in Glasgow[70] and Lee Chalmers gained 3,877 votes (1.2%) in Lothian.[71][72] Overall the WEP obtained 5,968 votes, 0.3% of the Scottish vote.[73]
Sharon Lovell, Emma Rose, Sarah Rees and Ruth Williams gained 2,807 votes, 1.2% of the total vote in South Wales Central.[74][75]
The overall total number of votes cast for the party in Scotland, Wales and London was 350,000.[76]
In the 2017 general election the party stood seven candidates. None were elected, and all lost their deposits. 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.[79] The party targeted Davies's seat because of his role in blocking legislation that would have implemented better support for domestic violence victims, and because of his public comments about women, people with disabilities and LGBT people. 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".[80] The full list of WEP candidates in the 2017 general election is below:
Mandu Reid stood as a candidate for the WEP in the 2018 Lewisham East by-election; she came fifth out of the 14 candidates, receiving 506 votes (2.3%).[89]
2019
General election
The party put forward three candidates at the 2019 general election, all of whom lost their deposits, due to winning a low number of votes.
These constituencies have previously had an MP suspended from his respective party because of allegations of sexual assault or harassment, although all three MPs that had been accused did not seek re-election. Two prospective WEP candidates in Sheffield Hallam and the Cities of London and Westminster stood aside to support the Liberal Democrats after they agreed to implement a WEP policy to challenge two MPs, one accused of writing sexist messages online and the other of grabbing and manhandling a female environmental protester.[93]
Local elections
The party put up candidates in more than 20 of the local elections of 2019.Note 2 The party saw its first councillor, Kay Wesley, elected. Wesley was standing as the sole Women's Equality Party candidate and received 1250 votes (a 5.7% share of the vote) to represent the East Ward on Congleton Town Council.[94][95]
2020
In January 2020, Mandu Reid was announced as the party leader following her role as interim leader since early 2019.
2021
Reid was the party's candidate for the 2021 London mayoral election on 6 May 2021, having replaced Sue Black, who had to withdraw for health reasons.[96] Reid finished tenth in the mayoral election with 21,182 votes (0.8%). The party also stood on the London-wide list in the 2021 London Assembly election,[97] coming fifth with 55,684 votes (2.2%), a fall compared to their previous result.
It also stood 3 candidates in the Lothian region (coming tenth with 0.3%, down 0.9% from the previous election) and 4 candidates in the Glasgow region (coming tenth with 0.3%, down 0.5% from the previous election) for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[98][99]
2022
The party stood 2 candidates in the 2022 City of London Corporation election, both of whom came last in their wards. Harini Iyengar received an 11.1% share of the vote in the ward of Bread Street out of 4 candidates, while Alison Smith received a 3.2% share of the vote in the ward of Portsoken out of 7 candidates.
2023
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). WEP Candidate Stacy Hart came second in Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, with 925 votes to the Conservatives' 1000 (36.8% vote/voter share).[100]
2024
On 8 April, Women's Equality Party candidate, Sarah Pattison was appointed to Stinsford Parish Council, Dorset, in an uncontested election.[101] In the 2024 local elections a Women's Equality Party candidate, Stacy Hart, was elected to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council for the Hatch Warren & Beggarwood ward; Hart was elected with 1,659 votes (61.6%), gaining the seat from Conservatives.[102]
Reportedly, 1,300 people joined the party on the day that it opened up membership, which costs £4 per month.[23] In the first financial year, the party raised £512,219 in membership fees.[104] As of 13 October 2015[update], 65 local and regional Women's Equality Party groups had been founded,[36] and in July 2016 the party reported that it had 65,000 members.[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.[107] The party's membership reportedly grew from 25,000 to 55,000 in the month following the European Union membership referendum.[108] In September 2020, it was reported that the party's membership was 30,000.[109]
On 26 October 2024, it was reported that the party has "more than 5,600 paying members and about 24,000 registered supporters".[4]
Fundraising and donations
The party's first fundraiser, held in front of 400 people, including businesswoman Martha Lane Fox, took place at Conway Hall on 9 June 2015.[110][111] In September that year Toksvig announced the dates for a comedy tour to raise funds for the party.[112][113] In the party's first year (ending 31 December 2015) £512,219 was raised through membership fees, £38,528 through fundraising activities and £79,212 was raised through donations.[104]
The artist Damien Hirst created a piece of work for auction entitled "Spin Drawing for Women's Equality" (2015).[114] The piece, which contained the party's colours, raised £20,000 when it was auctioned in April 2016. The artists Jake and Dinos Chapman also began a campaign, stamping the words "Womens Equality Party" onto 2p coins and then returning them into circulation.[115] (Suffragettes had also defaced pennies.[116])
In the party's second year (ending 31 December 2016) £447,946 was raised through membership fees, £35,918 through fundraising activities and £261,394 was raised through donations.[117]
Criticisms
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. They have been demonised and subject to punitive cuts."[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".[119]
The British edition of GQ has also accused the party of "alienating 50 per cent of the electorate", adding that, "while the WEP may aim to appeal to both female Tory voters and female Labour voters, it doesn't take away from the implicit suggestion that the party – which aims for 'diverse' membership – is still aimed almost solely at women".[120] The party has also been criticised "for being comprised mainly of white, middle-class affluent women".[121]
The International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW) have criticised the party's stance on supporting the criminalisation of commercial sex.[122] This policy has also been criticised by other women, including the journalist Abi Wilkinson.[123] The Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement (SWARM), Scot-Pep, and National Ugly Mugs, have all condemned the way then party leader, Sophie Walker spoke about a sex worker in 2018. The organisations have rejected the party's idea of criminalisation in the sex industry, with the organisations saying that they do not support increased police powers, nor enforcement against sex workers, and that criminalisation would do nothing to end poverty or give migrants better work options.[124]
The party has also been accused of being "both too ambitious and not ambitious enough", that, in order to maintain traction, it ought to concentrate on just one issue, e.g., quotas in the boardroom.[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.[127] Brunskell-Evans said that "If a child decides that it's an astronaut, one can play along with this. One doesn't have to moralise about it but quite clearly the child is not an astronaut. In fact it's incumbent upon adults who are responsible for the welfare, psychological and social and medical, of children not to go along with this story",[127] and stated her belief that recognising gender incongruence was "imposing", "abusive", and "imposing restrictions on children".[126] Subsequently, she withdrew from a King's event after protests by students, and three transgender members complained to the party that she was "promoting prejudice against the transgender community". Brunskell-Evans was investigated by the party and subsequently resigned.[127]
Toksvig tells the story of how she helped start a new political party in Britain, the Women's Equality Party, with the express purpose of putting equality on the ballot.
^ ab"Timetable". pre.ukevote.uk/we. Election portal for the Women’s Equality Party Leadership Election. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
^"Profile: Sophie Walker". pre.ukevote.uk/we. Election portal for the Women's Equality Party Leadership Election. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
^"Profile: Magda Devas". pre.ukevote.uk/we. Election portal for the Women's Equality Party Leadership Election. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
^Catherine Mayer, Lily Allen, Ninotchka, Hugh Quarshie, Stella Duffy, Tanya Moodie, Philippa Perry, Jack Monroe and Leila Bertrand (27 April 2016). Give half your votes to equality on 5 May – WE think that's fair #VoteWE (Video). Women's Equality Channel via YouTube. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
^ abcBannerman, Lucy (23 November 2017). "Barred academic Heather Brunskell-Evans warns of cowardice over trans issues". Times. Retrieved 4 July 2021. The academic had argued in favour of transgender adults defining themselves "in whichever way they want", but she questioned the advice being promoted to schools and youth groups by transgender organisations that positive affirmation was the only correct way to support children who expressed confusion over their gender. She said: "If a child decides that it's an astronaut, one can play along with this. One doesn't have to moralise about it but quite clearly the child is not an astronaut. In fact it's incumbent upon adults who are responsible for the welfare, psychological and social and medical, of children not to go along with this story." It is understood her comments prompted three complaints from transgender members of the Women's Equality Party, accusing her of "promoting prejudice against the transgender community".
Stacy Hart, Hatch Warren and Beggarwood Ward, Basingstoke and Deane · Paula King, Reddish North, Stockport · Diane Coffey, Heatons North ward, Stockport · Samantha Days, Crumpsall ward, Manchester · Hattie Thomas, Mossley ward, Tameside and Hattie Thomas, Mossley Parish, Cheshire · Sharon Richards, Manor ward, Trafford · Louise Timlin, Evendons West ward, Wokingham and Louise Timlin, Evendons ward, Wokingham Borough · Susan Mead, Congleton North East Ward, Congleton Town Council · Kay Wesley, Congleton East ward, Cheshire East and Kay Wesley, South East Ward, Congleton Town Council) · Jane Whild, Newport Pagnell North and Hanslope, Milton Keynes · Donna-Maree Humphery, Weaste and Seedley, Salford
