Webchat with Sophie Walker, leader of the Women's Equality Party and London Mayor candidate, Tuesday 19 April at noon

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

We’re pleased to welcome Sophie Walker, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, ahead of the London Mayoral elections, on Tuesday 19 April at 12 noon.

The Women’s Equality Party was set up in 2015 “to unite people of all genders, diverse ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, beliefs and experiences in the shared determination to see women enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men so that all can flourish.”

Sophie was elected leader of the Women's Equality Party in July 2015, and in January 2016 was voted to represent the party in the London Mayoral election. She says she is campaigning for “work that works, affordable housing, equal caregiving, equal enterprise, transport that works, affordable housing and an end to violence against women and girls.”

She worked as an international news agency journalist for nearly twenty years and is an ambassador for the National Autistic Society, campaigning for better support and understanding of autism, particularly in women and girls.

Please do join us on Tuesday at 12 noon if you can, or post a question for Sophie here in advance. And, as ever, please do remember our webchat guidelines and do be polite.

The London mayoral election will be held on 5 May and you’ll need to register to vote by 18 April, today. (Keep your eyes peeled for more mayoral candidate webchats in the next few weeks.)

Thanks
MNHQ

If it looks like a crock of shit and it smells like a crock of shit..........................

Still not satisfactory answers to a number of issues raised. I'm going to have a hard think about my membership. I usually take the view you have to be in it to effect change but I can't get emails answered or a proper answer to the questions asked.

Is anyone else a bit lost as to why she came on in the first place?

In the off chance you decide to re-read this at a later time Sophie..

Look around you, this is your demographic. These are the women who will vote at the next election. These are the women every future PM comes over and attempts to woo with talks of biscuits and extended free child care.

You are ignoring the only people who would vote for you. I personally wouldn't split the liberal vote by voting for someone who refuses to even represent women.

Is anyone else a bit lost as to why she came on in the first place?

So we can have ANOTHER politician talk about how nasty the feminists were?

'Can you reassure me, as someone who desperately needs to have a safe space to change without being inadvertantly triggered, that the WEP would be happy to campaign for a third space, so that we have male, female AND gender neutral spaces for all, so ensuring the privacy, safety and dignity of everyone. I don't want trans people to suffer and I want them to have as much protection in law as possible, but not by reducing safe spaces for biologically born women'

If you could address this, it would be reassuring for a huge number of us, who are fully supportive of the trans community yet still wish to retain a space for biological women. Biological women have biological issues that are unique to us and we don't wish to lose the privacy and dignity those spaces afford us. Does the WEP support male space, female space and gender-neutral spaces, thus protecting everyone?

HowBad's post (page 4) exactly describes my response. I would be irritated by the attitude and flimflam given here if it were from any party -- but from one with 'Women' in the title, it's particularly insulting.

"I think you are vicious and I am not going to give you any concrete answers, just non-specific flummery, but I am going to end our conversation with a plug for the party I lead anyway".

Yeah, maybe not.

I did email my local WEP coordinator when it first started up (long before the Notorious Guest Post last year which put me off them), as I was quite enthused, but they never answered. That's a bullet dodged and a few quid saved, I now see.

I really did have high hopes for WEP. What an utter disappointment.

How the hell do you support women as a specific marginalised group, when woman just means everyone?

What a gargantuan cop out.

Membership cancelled.

I expect pissing women off feels safer than pissing the trans lobby off.

SOMEBODY'S going to have to bite the bullet at some point and admit that WOMEN ARE WOMEN. Not biological women, not cis women, not natal women, not women-born-women, not non-men, but WOMEN. The word means something. Interesting that everyone is more scared of the trans lobby than they are of the feminist lobby - is that because they're mostly MEN?

I just don't get this. I want to support a feminist party but this doesn't seem to be one.

Empress I think you've got it in one.

Wow. Just wow. I am continually astounded by the utter lack of critical thinking around defining 'woman'. It's really not that difficult!

How have we got to this point? It's as if women generally were lulled into a false sense of security, all the youngsters didn't think Feminism was needed/relevant any more, everyone nicely softened up, and BAM! We are suddenly being dismantled, one pronoun at a time.

In the off chance you decide to re-read this at a later time Sophie..

Look around you, this is your demographic. These are the women who will vote at the next election. These are the women every future PM comes over and attempts to woo with talks of biscuits and extended free child care.

You are ignoring the only people who would vote for you. I personally wouldn't split the liberal vote by voting for someone who refuses to even represent women.

^^^
This in spades, both the WEP and the Greens have ensured I will never vote for them by refusing to acknowledge the reality of what a woman is.

This smacks of a donkey shelter redirecting half it's funds and time to help owls. Owls are fucking nice, I like owls. But I expect the donkey shelter to help the donkeys.

This made me chuckle though, so not a completely wasted hour

Empress - you bet it does. Women are just vicious, whereas the trans lobby does actual death threats.

Mumsnet members 4 - 0 WEP

I am astonished by her total failure to acknowledge Buffy's point re post-natal wards. How hard is it to say, at a minimum, 'we are concerned that some women are having difficult experiences post birth and we will campaign for increased funding?'

I interviewed for a fairly big job at WEP last year and they didn't even bother to contact me after the interview to tell me I didn't get it, so I'm not surprised at all of the people saying their emails etc don't get answered. I'm still a member and do support their stance on many things, but the blind refusal to clearly answer important questions concerning women's safe spaces is really worrying.

"I am not going to be as rude as I would like to about your doublespeak misuse of the word "old-fashioned" with your extremely new-fashioned (mis)reading of "becoming a woman"."

I noticed this too. Super manipulative comment.

Well, I spent the webchat picnicking in the park near work while enjoying the sunshine, so the hour wasn't totally wasted.