Respect my Sex - Mayor of Watford

[Magenta82]

Hi All
With the up coming local elections I wanted to get an idea of the candidates views on women's rights. In Watford we have an elected mayor, the position has been held by 2 people since it was created 20 years ago, both LibDems.

To get an idea of the candidates' stances I sent the following message to all 3 (as well as the local council candidates who haven't replied).

Dear Candidate

I live in xxx Ward and currently find myself politically homeless, having recently given birth to a baby girl I have come to realise the importance of women’s hard won rights and protections and the reasons they are needed. You may have seen the campaign ‘Respect my Sex if you want my ‘X’’, in which women all over the country are talking to local election candidates about women’s sex-based rights and single-sex spaces and services.

Sex is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act. Women’s single-sex spaces and services matter for the dignity, privacy, and safety of women.

Yet some local authorities, have begun prioritising the concept of self-identified ‘gender’ over sex. This filters down into Council policies with an impact on the provision of women’s single-sex spaces and services – for example public toilets and park facilities. Clarity about sex also matters for sports – girls and women need single-sex competitions to guarantee fair and safe competition. Clarity about sex matters for safeguarding children. Some schools have removed single-sex toilets and local authorities have endorsed materials which suggest that what makes a child a boy or a girl is whether they fit into masculine or feminine stereotypes.

I’m interested to know where you would stand on these issues and would be grateful if you would let me know how you would answer the following questions:

Can you tell me what a woman is?
Do you understand that the Equality Act 2010 allows for single-sex services and sports?
If elected, would you work to ensure that our local authority:
retains the concept of sex where it matters in language, communications, data collection, and policy development;
protects women’s single-sex spaces and services, both in direct provision, and where you have regulatory / partnership influence;
prioritises safeguarding the vulnerable, especially children, in the provision of all spaces and services where sex matters?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks

My Name

I have heard back from all 3 and will post the replies in the order I received them.

I read the labour response as we have to respond to a constituent, so yes yes and whatever will get you to go away without saying anything. Just about literally.

I've still had no response from the Greens or Lib Dems in my ward despite chasing them. Even the waffle posted above by your Lib Dem would've been better than just ignoring me!

I didn't get a response from the local council candidates, just the Mayoral ones, although the Lib Dems said that the response should be taken as coming from both candidates.

There are no greens or other parties standing for either mayor or councillor in my ward so just the big 3.

It is rude to stand for election and then not bother to interact with potential constituents, makes you wonder how accessible or helpful they be in office.

Our labour candidate organised an IWD memorial walk. Names of all the women murdered by men in the past year were read out at a vigil and flowers laid at a local peace garden. Her party is the only one who has bothered to produce a manifesto. I can't find anything for the other parties. The Lib Dem candidate is an obsequious sychopantic misogynist who posts all over Facebook and Twitter about how wonderful he is. No thanks. He didn't take kindly to me calling him out on his misogynistic abuse of his colleague in public either and then denied it happened. Gaslighting greasy toad. No idea about the Con party but they haven't got much chance here anyway and nor have the greens. I used to vote strategically but not now. Our labour councillor candidate deserves to know how many votes she has.

That sounds really positive @CervixSampler, in your position I would be voting Labour as well.

I think the first response is by far the best. That said, I would probably decide that the Labour candidate had done just about the bare minimum needed to get my vote, but that's down to 40-odd years of tribal voting that I still can't quite shake off - you can almost hear him clenching his teeth and I wouldn't entirely trust him not to try and wriggle out of it. The Lib Dem response is all over the place and still refuses to concede there's a conflict of rights, so no.

How bloody rude and dismissive the Labour respondent was. The Tory was bang on the money. The Lib Dem was bullshit ( a form answer?) and basically said that TRAs can use women's spaces. I'm in my late 50s. I have voted Labour in every election until the last when I spoilt my ballot. I will vote Tory this time.

In our areas it’s Libdem / Tory neck and neck. Our mp is a passionate TWAW supporter. Glad there’s no local election here as I would be stuck!

I thought the Tory response was best. Not just because she addressed the issue clearly, but it was also the only response that appeared to respect you as a person. The LibDem response was a load of politi-speak twaddle and the Labour response reads like a standard response written by a minion.

The LibDems have been given advice on how to answer such 'difficult' questions...

Sorry to say but the Conservative candidate sounds the most in touch (and passionate)

Why “sorry to say”, Sushi? Our local council is Tory run, and very efficient. One of the councillors attends my church, and would have absolutely no truck with gender woo or letting men in women’s spaces. Tories are not monsters, they are people who care about local services and value for money for their council tax payers, just as you do.

Maladicta I got as far as their use of the word cis and read no more. They are all about the t and that's not championing equality. To me they are an exclusionary party.

@Babdoc I agree. What's unfortunate is the tribalism that is stopping people recognising the value in the other political party.

I'm left leaning, and for various reasons know quite a few local councillors across the spectrum. I rate a conservative bloke and a conservative woman, a labour woman and a labour bloke, and thoroughly despise one high ranking labour bloke.

They are individuals who work hard for local residents and do whatever they can to improve local services. They see things differently, but are all well intentioned and hard working. Whatever party.

The Lib Dem response was far too woke and waffly and more concerned about trans people than anybody else. I wouldn't vote for them.

Are the answers also collated here? I couldn't see them.

How anyone can vote Tory when their leader is one of the biggest misogynist in politics is beyond me.

Lydia Simmonds was the UKs first Black lady Mayor (came to my school)

Not a difficult Fact check, makes me question what else they'll get wrong.

Appointed mayors and elected mayors are different though. Lydia Simmonds was not elected. Elected mayors only became a thing in the UK after the local government act 2000.

Thank-you for this. I am in Watford and have been going backwards and forwards over who to vote for.

Thanks op. I've taken your lead and just messaged my local candidates using an adapted version of your excellent email!

"Liberal Democrats believe we must ensure the safety, dignity and wellbeing of all people. We are committed to upholding women’s rights and trans rights, and do not believe that the two are in conflict."
He may not believe the two are in conflict, but they clearly are. So either he can't see reality or he's lying. Either loses him my vote.

The Labour candidate's response has conjured an image of him holding your message with big metal tongs, as far away as his arm will stretch, trying to make sure he does not become infected by you. Rolling his eyes and using the minimum of words to get it away from him ASAP. Except, of course "The same as the biological definition." He could have typed 'adult human female' quicker and yet, and yet, and yet - 'same as' somehow feels to me like he's denying it's got anything to do with him, IYSWIM? He accepts there is a biological definition but wants nothing to do with it, won't even sully his keyboard by typing it out. No, he wouldn't get my vote either, he's dismissive and frankly uninterested in interacting with constituents, which will make him crap at the job.

The Conservative candidate makes a good impression with me. She addresses you personally, she's actually read it properly and sees what you are getting at. She sees YOU, and she sees the problem. She's clear and unambiguous, and points out that it's not just her it's her party too. She comes across as a human being, which the other two really don't.

So, you asked, "So as a left leaning woman who would you vote for?". I am a left-leaning woman, and it pains me to be politically homeless just now, but on those responses I would be voting Conservative. The LibDems can just fuck off and the Labour bloke

and the Labour bloke is just not up to the job.

(sorry, pressed 'post' too soon)

My friends MIL who is a former mayor (independent) is of the opinion that local politics shouldn't be party political and therefore vote for the person who looks best based on their policies/previous performance (if relevant). So based on that it is definitely Binita who would get my vote.

Tories are not monsters, they are people who care about local services and value for money for their council tax payers, just as you do.

Yes, but those will be the old fashioned Tories who were mostly chased out of the Parliamentary Party in favour of Johnson arselickers.