Omg I did it, I talked to a canvasser

[mamas12]

The first canvasser in my area I asked her a few questions re her party etc and took a deep breathe and asked her what her stance was on women’s sex based rights
She was ok
She said it could be a contentious and emotional issue and she didn’t want to put trans people down she supports trans people but by protesting against the Womens Place event was not on
She also said the gra wasn’t going to go through now and if the torys get through in Westminster then it won’t change for another four years so there’s time to try and get a proper dialogue going
So there we are I felt reading between the lines she was supportive of women’s sex based rights so I’m going to vote for her

[LadyBuffOfBuffdonia]

Silly question, if an individual candidate is supportive of women's rights, does that mean that they are likely to apply that to their work or do they have to follow the official party line, despite their personal misgivings or reassurances?
I mean, if the lib Dems on a whole support twaw, self Id etc surely it's best not to give them a seat, regardless of how nice an individual canvassers is, as policy is usually rolled out on a national not local level?

[GNCQ]

Woah this is a Labour person? Who was aware of the Women's place event issue?

Not sure what you mean about "the GRA isn't going to go through now" as it's been in place for years, I presume you mean "changes to the GRA aren't going to go through" which isn't true because they've dropped the fee to a fiver so some changes have gone though.

Nonetheless apologies for the nit picking on my part. Well done for speaking up

still won't trust labour or green or SNP or lib dem as far as I can throw them mind you

[GNCQ]

LadyBuff This is for local elections, so giving a counsellor a position at this lower level will give the person a voice at the table rather than a "seat".

[Ohdeariedear]

I spoke to my Labour candidate on the doorstep last week. Usual flannel in response about how everyone has the right to dignity and respect but I’m happy I at least put it on her radar.

[Ohdeariedear]

And I’m in Scotland so MSP candidate. She’s no chance of winning though.

[mamas12]

Yes I suppose as a local election it is different but I did feel quite proud I said something every little bit helps

[MarieIVanArkleStinks]

I can't believe this veritable sea of bullshit has turned me into a Tory-voter. Ugh! I want to scrub myself. But despite the hated Brexit, despite the fuck-ups they've made in their handling of the pandemic, their over extravagant flat-renovations and childish in-fighting, I now see the women's rights problem as serious enough to turn me into a single-issue voter.

The irony that it happens to be the Tories who are the only party supporting women's rights isn't lost on me. Traditionally they've never been much known for doing women any favours. But at least they know what a woman is.

[OccultGnuAsWell]

LadyBuffOfBuffdonia I'm interested in that question as well - how much are personal beliefs allowed to go against the party line?

And like GNCQ I'm somewhat mistrustful of Labour/Green/Lib Dem and would be of the SNP but I'm nowhere near there. So who to vote for? Seriously if anyone can advise that would be useful.

I sometimes in wilder moments think I'd prefer a system where you vote AGAINST candidates. The "over my dead body" vote.

Not practical but it would make me feel better.

[OccultGnuAsWell]

LadyBuffOfBuffdonia - just seen your post. Conservatives it may have to be.

Sheesh

[MarieIVanArkleStinks]

@OccultGnuAsWell

LadyBuffOfBuffdonia - just seen your post. Conservatives it may have to be.

Sheesh

Isn't it just?

[countrypunk]

Aha, I spoke to a Labour canvasser too! She knocked on my door (obvs) and I told her that although I was a lifelong Labour voter, I was unhappy with the party because of their reluctance to uphold women's sex-based rights. She immediately launched into a diatribe about transgender people's rights (which I hadn't actually mentioned), and told me that if I didn't support them then I couldn't support women's rights either. So she managed to make a load of judgemental assumptions about what my views without addressing my original point.

I really don't know what to do on Thursday. I've written to all the candidates about women's sex-based rights and the only satisfactory response I've had is from a Tory. But how can I vote for them when so many of their other policies harm women?

I'm so fucking angry. The left has utterly betrayed us.

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

I live in hope that one will knock on my door, for Labour, Lib Dems or Greens!

[GNCQ]

She immediately launched into a diatribe about transgender people's rights (which I hadn't actually mentioned), and told me that if I didn't support them then I couldn't support women's rights either. So she managed to make a load of judgemental assumptions about what my views without addressing my original point.


Fuck them. Can't believe Labour are walking themselves into such a disaster.

[persistentwoman]

Well done OP for speaking out. We need the canvassers to go back to HQ telling them that women are refusing to vote for parties removing women's rights and child safeguarding.
Things will only change when women won't vote for those parties nurturing misogyny / misogynists.

[LadyBuffOfBuffdonia]

I suppose my trepidation is that if there's nothing in party policy holding individual candidates to their promises, then what's to stop them saying what you want to hear to get their vote, then using their 'voice' to push through changes you specifically said would influence how you voted.

Yes, I suppose personal integrity might stop them doing this, but there's no guarantee they won't just go along with what the party is broadly saying.

[BoreOfWhabylon]

@mamas12

Yes I suppose as a local election it is different but I did feel quite proud I said something every little bit helps

Yes indeed. Well done @mamas12

[countrypunk]

@GNCQ

I was actually shaking with anger afterwards. I wrote to the local Labour party about it. No response.

[MarieIVanArkleStinks]

I'm so fucking angry. The left has utterly betrayed us.

I hear you. The right wing are laughing because they say the left is eating itself. And it is.

The problem being, there's a horseshow effect and the rhetoric of the 'left' as I'm hearing it is nothing like any of the values I've heard it espouse before. It sounds very much more like an extremely nasty right-wing brand of politics that I won't name.

Yet there are those claiming GC feminists are affiliated with the hardcore Christian right of the US, and will be coming for the LGBs and opposing abortion rights next.

You have to hand it to them: this movement have got DARVO down to a fine art.

[MarieIVanArkleStinks]

Horseshoe! Not horseshow. Olympia was cancelled this winter!

[LadyBuffOfBuffdonia]

She immediately launched into a diatribe about transgender people's rights

Apart from anything else I wouldn't want anyone this stupid (because they can't critically engage their brain) representing my interests.

[countrypunk]

@mamas12

Yes I suppose as a local election it is different but I did feel quite proud I said something every little bit helps

Yes, good work @mamas12!

[countrypunk]

@LadyBuffOfBuffdonia

*She immediately launched into a diatribe about transgender people's rights*

Apart from anything else I wouldn't want anyone this stupid (because they can't critically engage their brain) representing my interests.

Exactly! I realised there was zero point trying to reason with her, and where the hell do you begin with it all? I could see myself reflected in her eyes - a nasty sexist transphobe.

[Timestablesaretables]

@countrypunk it sounds like she thinks that women's rights and trans rights are diametrically opposed then.
Funny, I thought that they were saying there were enough rights for everyone, not taking anything away from women, blah blah.

[MummBraTheEverLeaking]

We never get canvassers round here! Probably cause we're a tory safe seat? This has thrown me tbh, on responses from the gcritical.org site the best candidate to uphold sex based rights is from Reform of all bloody places. It's that, Cons, Lab or Lib Dem.

Lib Dem can bugger off, they'd have had my vote years ago but not now, I'm not trusting Labour as far as I can throw them, really don't want to vote for the rehashed Brexit party which leaves the Tories.

This is just for the police commissioner though, the local councillor is an easy call for me as we know him personally and know he does a good job regardless of political affiliation and definitely not one to go in for gender ideology.

[Edna311]

I haven't seen any canvassers, although I have been hoping to have that conversation. I know the local Green and Lib Dem candidates slightly. They are both decent people who I know will work hard for the community's interests if elected. But it bothers me that a vote for either will be taken as support for their party's policies across the board.