Stay up to date with notifications from The?Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

POLITICS EXPLAINED

What is behind the rise and fall of the Women’s Equality Party?

Populism is making it harder than ever to bring about change, says the movement co-founded by Sandi Toksvig. Sean O’Grady looks at what it achieved and what could be next

Wednesday 30 October 2024 15:06 GMT
Comments
?
Abortion clinic defenders protect Bristol Women's Health

Leaders of the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) propose to wind up their organisation. A statement issued by its executive committee, endorsed by co-founders Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer, declares: “The truth is, despite the phenomenal efforts of our team, tireless activists and brilliant members, we can no longer see a way to make this work. Everybody is struggling, particularly women.

“Populism has gained ground and people are more and more polarised. We cannot, with the resources we have, and the political landscape as it is, deliver the change we were founded to make.” A special online party conference on 17 November will be asked to approve the decision.

Why is this happening?

滨迟’蝉 not because their work is done, or that equality – or anything like it – has been achieved. As with all smaller parties who lack philanthropic plutocrats to fund them, they are short of money – though the party says this is not the principal reason for the end of this feminist dream.

The WEP’s executive committee argues that the party’s earlier, successful strategy was not to catapult itself into power but to act as a pressure group, and to contest elections so that the other parties were pushed into taking equality and the feminist cause more seriously – thereby changing policy and attitudes.

The WEP claimed success with this, but its executive committee has now come to the conclusion that the rise of populism has made it too difficult to sustain: “We set out to demonstrate that people will vote for equality, so that in turn the old parties would shift themselves to look like us. And they did. They stood women against us, took our policies, and sped up progress. But now, instead of pursuing equality, they are weaponising debates about it to create division. That makes our model of creating change less effective.”

What went wrong?

There was that perennial lack of resources, but also the lack of direct political impact – having only modest, indirect influence under the first-past-the-post system of parliamentary elections didn’t help.

Sisters in arms: (from left) Catherine Mayer, Sandi Toksvig and Sophie Walker, founders of the Women’s Equality Party
Sisters in arms: (from left) Catherine Mayer, Sandi Toksvig and Sophie Walker, founders of the Women’s Equality Party (Charlie Forgham Bailey)

Founded in 2015, the WEP’s earlier results were relatively encouraging. For example, a pact with the Liberal Democrats in the Richmond-on-Thames by-election in 2016 helped Sarah Olney to defeat “independent Conservative” Zac Goldsmith, and the party’s leader at the time, Sophie Walker, came sixth in the London mayoralty race with 2 per cent of the vote (beating Ukip).

But despite a couple of impressive wins in council seats, and a laudable campaign against Tory so-called “men’s rights activist” Philip Davies in Shipley, the WEP scored increasingly embarrassing results. It must have been a sobering moment when the present party leader, Mandu Reid, finished 3,000 votes behind Count Binface in the 2021 London mayoral contest – achieving 0.8 per cent and only narrowly beating ultra-crank Piers Corbyn.

At the last general election, in July, the WEP put up four candidates, all of whom lost their deposits, harvesting 1,275 votes in total.

What else happened?

Arguably, the lack of a high-profile leader such as Toksvig didn’t help, and neither did some divisions over the party’s policy surrounding transgender women and gender self-ID, though the issue seems to have been settled comparatively amicably.

For the record, the party believes: “Women, as a class, are discriminated against and oppressed. There is a shared experience as a class, but that discrimination and oppression will often express itself differently for cis women and trans women, just as other factors such as age, ethnicity, economic background and disability are likely to have an impact. Cis inclusivity must never mean trans exclusivity, nor vice versa.”

So self-ID is balanced by a commitment to permit “services – such as domestic abuse refuges – to provide single-sex spaces as allowed by exemptions under the Equality Act, as long as they do so lawfully”.

Generally, the party’s agenda and outlook coincided a bit too much with that of the Greens and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party for the good of the WEP’s?electoral ambitions, limited as they were.

What went right?

Lots. The party started with an exciting list of backers including Emma Thompson, Lily Allen, Hugh Quarshie, Tanya Moodie, Jack Monroe, Jo Brand and Rosie Boycott, and a great deal of goodwill. Had those personalities been running for office, it might have been a different story.

Mandu Reid finished 3,000 votes behind Count Binface in the 2021 London mayoral contest
Mandu Reid finished 3,000 votes behind Count Binface in the 2021 London mayoral contest (Women’s Equality Party)

At its launch, the WEP enjoyed more than its fair share of media coverage. At its height, party membership was around 60,000 (not far off where Reform UK is now), and it had clear and unarguable objectives: 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; and equality in healthcare and medical research.

What’s next?

滨迟’蝉 a little vague. The party says: “The changes we have won will endure. The communities and friendships we have built together will last. The people who we have brought into politics will continue on in this fight. We have learned so much together that we will each, in our own way, continue to use in the fight against patriarchy.”

Though the WEP was never partisan, and permitted associate membership for members of other parties, it may take some small comfort that Britain now has its first female chancellor; that the female contingent of the parliamentary Labour Party is now bigger than the entire Tory party in the Commons; and that this government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. We shall see where Reid, Toksvig and Mayer next choose to make their presence felt and their voices roar.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
soxtry.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
maw-pr.com
zaaksen.com
ypxsptbfd7.com
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
onlinenewsofindia.com
worldgraphic-team.com
bnsrz.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
webmanicura.com
osostore.com
softsmob.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
odskc.com
inzziln.info
leaiiln.info
cq-oa.com
dqtianshun.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
bartoysdirect.com
taquerialoscompadresdc.com
aaoodln.info
amcckln.info
drvrnln.info
dwabmln.info
fcsjoln.info
hlonxln.info
kcmeiln.info
kplrrln.info
fatcatoons.com
91guoys.com
signupforfreehosting.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
topsedu.xyz
xmxm7.com
x332.xyz
sportstrainingblog.com
autopartspares.com
readguy.net
soniasegreto.com
bobbygdavis.com
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
qazwsxedcokmijn.com
parabis.net
terriesandelin.com
luxuryhomme.com
studyexpanse.com
ronoom.com
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
snn01.com
hope-kelley.com
bancodeprofissionais.com
zjccp99.com
liturgycreator.com
weedsmj.com
majorelenco.com
colcollect.com
androidnews-jp.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
nova-click.com
abeautifulcrazylife.com
diggmobile.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
sizam-design.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
bamthemes.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com
avgo.top