The Big Lie - how the WEP was always about gender rather than sex

How can they not understand that yes it is about the trans issue, if 70% of their members voted against self ID, and they ignored them!

They're ignoring them still.

Yes, I'm sure when women resigned they cited finance as the reason - all the government departments cited the same thing when they left Stonewall.

They still can't admit that a man running the party, and a party meant to support women but can't define one, was bound to fail.

Defending their approach, Mayer said the party had been "very clear" and "supported the right, from the beginning, for people to determine their own gender".

it just looks like a game from where I'm standing. Let's all be lovely and talk gently about women, that's if the men don't mind?

And there's absolutely no way that Sandi Toksvig doesn't get it. Her almanac about women fairly bursts with fury over how they are written out of history, ignored and have all their achievements credited to men.

But, if I remember correctly, she also included two transwomen in that almanac.

So I really don't understand. Her 'lived experience', must be vastly at odds with her knowledge of historical sexism. She must, genuinely, see these men as a sacred caste.

They’re like Stonewall. They’ve completely run out of credibility & I for one don’t trust them.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2078r20ljxo

Seemed like a good idea but got hijacked and now they are going to campaign. I wonder if they are just going to be putting their energy into women's needs now.

Just how did we get here? I was wondering this as I realise that every single day you see a rainbow (not the nhs one) - and more and more the ‘reboot 12” extended version’ (which is pretty much the driving force).

Just how?

Very easy to find the name of the man who has bought/is only donor for the Women’s’ Equality Party on the electoral commission site and his twitter account makes it very obvious that his interest in women’s rights is solely focused on trans rights. He tweeted out about ‘trans daughter’

WEP should be deeply ashamed of themselves for selling out women like this

Thanks Fitt. That makes alot if sense.

from twitter now:
Georgia Ladbury Green heartPurple heart
@GeorgiaLadbury
For these reasons, among others, it's with a heavy heart that I've decided to step down from the Policy Committee and leave the party. I hope one day to return with the enthusiasm I first felt for it, but for now I'm sad to say I feel it has lost its way.
8:24 PM · Sep 8, 2021·Twitter Web App

Sophie Walker
@SophieRunning
14h
Replying to
@GeorgiaLadbury
I’m so sorry to read this Georgia. I’m also sorry to you and others who feel let down that under my leadership the party was not more decisive on this. I had hoped that my 2018 motion to consult all members on self ID would repair that disappointment. I don’t see any momentum now

I think Sophie changed her position after the Heather situation. There was a confrontation between Sophie and Heather at a meeting organised by A Woman's Place in London.

So the Committee position was not one held that strongly by Sophie as she's dropped it since learning more. This makes her leadership during the Heather situation pretty weak, letting extremists in the party bully someone out so visibly when you are not even especially committed to or understanding of the bullies bullshit isn't good leadership.

It's so tiny that it has ended up being a vehicle for a miniscule number of people's political ambitions.

I would really like to know a bit more detail on Sophie's thinking on this whole issue. I got the impression, probably from reading accounts here, that she did not act well towards Heather b-e, or at least contributed to her being shut down. But since she has left wep she has been pretty gc on twitter. Has she changed thoughts or was she acting against her beliefs before? If the founding leader was gender critical (broadly speaking) that rather undermines the claims on Glinner's blog (a while ago) that right from the beginning those who set up the party believed twaw and that belief was baked in.

I am not so negative about wep as some on here (I'm a member) but I don't think this development is good at all. Mandu's speech did say some important things (we should not shy away from trying to understand why so many girls are being referred to gi clinics), but i found myself shaking my head through much of it. They should continue with a proper consultation.

I was a founder member too but despite writing to them about my disquiet with questions about their sex gender policies I got no answers at all but they thought they could still write to me I stopped my subs last year they didn’t even acknowledge that still getting cheery letters from them. They are dead. A mask. I see Sophie Walker is GC on Twitter why didn’t she blow the whistle, break into the database and tell us all what was happening. How dare they use our name in vain when they don’t even know what woman means.

Would Private Eye be interested?

They claim to be a new way of doing politics but I doubt even the Tory Party would allow one of their fat cat donors to have such an influence on policy and direction.

Sustained dialogue?

Is that what we’re calling struggle session where disobedient women are browbeaten into parroting the party line that they had previously refused to take, now?

I was a founder member, too, but let my sub lapse after the treatment of Heather B-E, too. The writing was on the wall then.

If your feminism loses focus and becomes "Let's just be kind to everyone!" I think you need to find another name for it. 🙄

I saw those donations in a spreadsheet some months ago. This man is basically paying Mandu and the admins salaries, as the members subs won't cover. Of course they are going to do what he is paying for!

What a classic, man buys a womens political party.

They are rubbish on policy.

Mandu, immediately she was appointed, stood in the London assembly elections, which just seems like this was only ever a jumping off point. I'm sorry I ever gave them money.

What a waste of space and such a let down.

So the WEP are dictated to by a man. The WEP. For shame.

The electoral commissions database on donations is very interesting.

They're such a waste of space.

If WEP's founding members had not left for [insert your own reason - mine was the lack of due process with which they treated Heather Brunskell-Evans] maybe that wouldn't have brought about a situation where WEP is so poor that a single contributor can influence it so much.