Who to vote for as a feminist

[WorkingBling]

I am really struggling ahead of the elections. I have decided that commitment to feminist principals needs to be a strong part of my voting decision making process. But I honestly am not sure this helps.

Lib dems have terrible track record and while I like nick's wife, I can't vote for a party where there's only one woman I am impressed by.

Instinctively i am more of a labour supporter but with the exception of Harriet H I honestly feel underwhelmed by their female representation and view on women.

This leaves the conservatives. There are a number of woman in the party who impress me. But Dave doesn't strike me as a man who really believes in feminist principals.

Help please. All you lovely informed women must have some thoughts.

[fustybritches]

I'm voting Green

[LightningOnlyStrikesOnce]

Green for me too!

[ifyourehoppyandyouknowit]

Following. I've voted Labour in the past but I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed by it all. Voting Green would be tricky, I don't even think we have a Green candidate where I live.

[TheCowThatLaughs]

Green, but my vote will be "wasted"

[ShirakawaKaede]

Green would be my choice, my one reservation is that they support legalization of buying sex (personally I support Nordic model) - although whether they'd get that through is another matter. Other than that, I agree with most of their ideas.

[Namechangeyetagaintohide]

I support the greens but I don't believe they could run the country.

So I don't know who to vote for.

[cailindana]

I started a thread on this a while back but then got entirely distracted. I recommend emailing candidates to suss them out - I did that for the European election and it helped me choose.

[FloraFox]

The Greens and Lib Dems support legalisation / decriminalisation of prostitution, principally on an individual liberties basis. I'm definitely not voting for either of them.

[PrivateSecretaryNetwork]

What are Labour and the Conservatives' positions on prostitution? I can't find much online and I don't want to vote for a party that will legalise it.

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

I'm not going to vote Conservative again (have done in the past) because of the way cuts to public spending disproportionately affect women. They always will (well, unless society is completely redesigned) and low public spending is an essential part of Conservative ideology, and this government has not done what it could have to mitigate the effects on women.
This might not have bothered me so much in the past but increasingly I'm feeling that as a feminist my responsibility should be to poorer women who arguably suffer most from the patriarchy.

That narrows it down a bit.... but not much.....

[Amethyst24]

I think it has to go down to one's individual candidate and how likely they are to be a strong voice for women in parliament. Even if I didn't support Labour I would vote for Stella Creasey, for example. (At least i would if I lived in Walthamstow.)

[LightningOnlyStrikesOnce]

There are a hell of a lot of issues up for debate in this election. Since the countess has also veered us off the feminist angle, please please let there be no one on the feminist boards voting ukip with their general idiocy possible plans for the nhs voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/01/20/what-was-that-about-the-nhs-again-nigel/

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

Sorry, how have I veered off the feminist angle?

[LightningOnlyStrikesOnce]

well, slightly off the angle anyway. Too tired to think.

[LightningOnlyStrikesOnce]

x- post, no it was just me

[fustybritches]

That's disappointing about the Greens and prostitution. I know our local candidate and think she's ace, so I'll still vote for them, it's a Tory safe seat unfortunately.

[SanityClause]

We are likely to have some kind of coalition government this time around, and so a bot for Green may well not be "wasted". If a few constituencies vote for a Green MP, they may hold the balance of power on some issues.

[didyouwritethe]

Green.

[RoyallyFuckedOff]

I was going to say Green but I actually didn't realise that was their stance on prostitution.

[sara47]

I think that this current government is a very family/women unfriendly one, and so the obvious choice is definitely not the tory party. I have two sons and also consider myself a feminist and I don't see it necessary to go for policies just for women. I want a party that strives for opportunity, equality
with the importance of services that I/we can rely on like the NHS and Education that can benefit all of us, not just women. We are all linked and need to support and promote each other. The party that strives for these things has to be the Labour Party

[FloraFox]

I don't think Labour or the Conservatives have any policies on prostitution. I think they'd each be more likely to favour the Nordic model (if the issue was to come to Parliament) than the LibDems or Greens because they don't have the same background of individual liberties. Labour are more likely to consider women as a class and Tories are more likely to consider law and order or family and community values.

I'll probably choose based on the individual MP.

[OllyBJolly]

I'd usually vote for the female candidate, unless there is a good reason not to (i.e. if she was UKIP). However, this time around I am so fed up with Labour and their abandonment of principles that I'm torn between Green and SNP.

I agree with previous poster, there is likely to be a coalition so all votes will count.

[robin4]

Why vote for the female candidate on the basis of gender? Surely policies are what count. I like to see who is nearer to wanting what I want. Who's promoting equality? For Pro women candidates, living wage (lets face it mostly women are in low paid jobs), mostly women work in services and dare I say it rely on services. Which party believes and started the Welfare state? Still the labour party

[Mitchy1nge]

got to be green, 100% female MPs

[grimbletart]

I'd go for any party that understands how the economy works and how to handle it.

If that is fucked up, everything is fucked up.