The Women’s Equality Party Lewisham branch launches virtual hustings

The Women’s Equality Party (WEP) in Lewisham has launched a novel approach to hustings in keeping with the party’s ideal to do politics differently.

WEP Lewisham are offering a virtual hustings because this can reach many more people than a conventional hustings, the responses can be pondered over time, shared widely, and because conventional hustings are often held in locations and at times which can prevent women attending.

The virtual hustings created by Brockley resident, Rebecca Manson Jones, has been adopted by other WEP branches nationally (including Greenwich). WEP have invited all candidates to respond to ten questions inspired by their manifesto.

WEP is a new collaborative force in UK politics. With 65,000 members and registered supporters across the four nations and over 75 branches, their message has spread a long way in 2 years. The party is distinctive from other parties because they are collaborative, non-partisan and exist to put themselves out of business.

“WE want to find out which of the other candidates will make the Women’s Equality Party’s objectives a priority in the next parliament,” said Manson Jones who stood in the Brockley by-election (WEP’s first ever local council candidate) and in the GLA elections in 2016 for WEP.

“The Women’s Equality Party is not standing candidates in Lewisham in the General Election this time but that doesn’t mean we’re not active in engaging with the needs and concerns of women in Lewisham.”

WEP created the virtual hustings so that members, registered supporters and other voters can decide who to trust with their vote. WEP wants to know from other candidates how they can demonstrate their track record and future commitment to WEPs 7 objectives and policies:

• Equal Representation,
• Equal Parenting & Caregiving,
• An End to Violence Against Women and Girls,
• Equal Education,
• Equal Media Treatment,
• Equal Pay and Opportunity,
• Equality in Healthcare & Medical Research.

The virtual hustings also features questions on the impact of Brexit on women, and migration and women.

The questions are published on the WEP Lewisham blog as are all the answers that they have received. WEP will be updating the blog and sharing the responses as they are received until 8 June.

You can also find WEPs full manifesto with policies which they encourage other parties to steal here: Manifesto General Election 2017