Conservatives For Women launch today

Thank you for your support from the other side, let's wave at each other from time to time! It would be amazing if all women concerned with reclaiming our safe spaces could sign up, either to us or to Labour Women's Declaration. That way, we cover everything, and our strength is in unity.

I’m signed up to Labour Women’s declaration, despite having my membership rejected due to leaving WEP to join Labour (they claimed I was still a WEP member, I wasn’t, but there’s no right to appeal for 2 years and both central membership and CLP ignored my response). I can’t in all good conscience support the Conservative party in any way I’m afraid, this & former governments have too much blood on their hands as far as I’m concerned, and Boris is the fault of the party members, along with all of the shitshow of this year that that has entailed. That said, I wish you luck influencing your party to properly support women, and should LWD launch a similar initiative, I would join that. I’m not leaving the left to the wokerati, tempting as it might feel sometimes!!!!

All the best in cross-party solidarity!

Lifelong floating voter here.

Am I in? You bet. The issue of women's rights is right at the top of my agenda. It's the single issue affecting the largest proportion of the population, yet somehow it's never treated with the gravitas it deserves.

Thank you, than you for this

I’m in. Self ID, the use of puberty blockers on children & young people, single sex spaces & the rise in misogyny are the most important political issues for me at the moment. This is a battle we have to win.

"As we said:
"We are working cross party with all the other political women's groups to inform and influence our peers and MPs.""

That's very good to hear. I'll stick with those political women's groups, in that case.

Good luck with this.

I’m not a conservative, never have been and never will be, so won’t be joining up, but I like how you’ve worded the declaration,. I will happily lend my support to cross party initiatives and support your campaigns where they intersect with my areas of interest.

Right, well, based on this thread I won't be going near this.

I'm happy that your life is such that, FOR YOU, self-ID is the most important political issue, vizt:

"terrible threat to women that self-ID poses. (Thank you JKR!) I joined the Conservative Party, and have found them very receptive and supportive about preserving safe spaces for women - changing rooms, bathrooms, hospital wards, prisons and refuges. This is the most important political issue for me, my elderly mum-in-law, and my teenage daughter"

However it's a long way from most important on my list of political issues.

My life is at actual risk from austerity. The way Universal Credit has been set up directly threatens the very existence of the women's refuges you want to support. The rolling back of employment rights has affected women. And IIRC the figures are now starting to emerge that women are bearing the brunt of lockdown job losses.

So for me, those issues are very much more important than trans issues.

I'm not planning to lend you my support while you or anyone else discusses what a woman is, because the Tories didn't wait to say what a woman was before oppressing me.

In fact, by headlining trans issues as "the most important political issue for you", in the face of all that's going on at the moment, you boost the impression the Tories are hoping trans issues will be a cheap win for recruiting women without giving away anything they actually care about.

That said, I agree with ChattyLion that it's important to have groups working for women's rights within political parties. I hope that regardless of whether the group was founded on opportunism or for more sincere reasons, it does end up working for women's rights across more areas, not merely being against trans.

I look forward to seeing what you achieve.

I think it’s going to be quite challenging for some non-members and and non-Conservative voters to join a group called Conservatives for Women even if you’re working with other groups cross party.

I found this confusing to read to.

Thank you. The way it works is that you sign-up to our newsletter, and at that point you say whether or not you're a conservative party member. This means, when we're talking to MPs, we can say 'we have x number of supporters, and of those, x number are party members'. We think we're going to have enough numbers of both kinds to be taken seriously. So I'd urge you to sign-up, it's not a contract to vote conservative or have a photo of Maggie Thatcher on your wall, it lends us your support so we can campaign on reclaiming women's spaces more effectively.

I am happy to see this. I hope you get a lot of traction in the Tory party, raising women’s issues from the inside within the party of government is essential.
The cross party working is great and also vital, please do that.
I think it’s going to be quite challenging for some non-members and and non-Conservative voters to join a group called Conservatives for Women even if you’re working with other groups cross party. Too big an ask for me but I wish you very well.

You've got a point, certainly. I was trying to keep my two activities separate, to protect the 'chain' of identity, but we've been so busy today that I felt I had to jump in and answer some questions. Thank you everyone so far for your wonderful messages of support and constructive feedback, we're currently working on the Census 2021 campaign and after Christmas, will be campaigning on the government's forthcoming Technical Review on Toilets Provisions.

Thank you for posting.

I have never voted Tory but there’s no way I can vote Labour at the moment. I’m reeling from the shock of left wing or moderate parties refusing to support female only spaces and I am pleased that you’re putting this on the Conservative agenda.

Now get rid of Philip Davies and I’ll vote.....

Just be open and state what you are offering without all this sockpuppety sales nonsense.

Yes, because "GingerJonesy" totally gives away your real-life ID.

Thank you for the information Ginger and the clarification.

Trying to preserve my anonymity.

Wha...?

What's with the fakery, GingerJonesy? Why not just say from the start you were involved, rather than pretend "they" have nice postcards.

FFS.

Is this really the foot you want the group to get off on?

The Board are Conservative Party members, and we have relationships with Councillors, MPs and Peers. We have already had questions asked in the Lords, and worked cross-party with questions asked in the Commons. By growth of numbers, campaigns and emails, we hope to grow our voice within the Party until it cannot be ignored. Today is a very, very good start. ('We', ok, you've rumbled me! )

Look! They've got nice postcards to send to people who stand up for women - Rosie Duffield springs to mind. www.conservativesforwomen.org/women-say-thank-you

Was coming to ask the same as @YouNoob. Who is "in" from the party so far.

I followed on twitter, signed up for updates on campaigns, and am very pleased you're working cross party

Neither a member nor a voter but I will definitely take a look. I feel badly let down by my own party on this issue and have no objection to working across party lines.
And how anyone on the left has the brass neck to talk about bullying is beyond me.

Is this the Baroness’ party that we are waiting to join?