Sophie Walker is WE candidate for London Mayor

Sophie Walker, the Leader of the new Women’s Equality Party, has been elected as the party’s first ever candidate for London Mayor. Vowing to make ‘equality and diversity the fuel that drives our nation’s capital’, Ms Walker said that “London’s four million women are living with the UK’s biggest pay gap, most expensive childcare, highest sexual violence rates and highest child poverty. I’ve watched one Mayor after another ignore and undervalue women. Now I want to take action to help them flourish. Because when London’s women flourish, the city will be better for everyone.”

The Women’s Equality Party (WE), which was co-founded by author and journalist Catherine Mayer and broadcaster and author Sandi Toksvig, chose Ms Walker as its leader in July 2015. She has previously worked as a reporter for 20 years, covering politics, business and finance. Since becoming leader, she has  built a vibrant political movement of 45,000 members and supporters in just 9 months. “I've done this while balancing the needs of my children against the daily demands of work - one of millions of women to do so, wondering why politicians don’t seem to want to help. As Mayor of London, I am going to help. I am going to make equality and diversity the fuel that drives our nation’s capital.”

She is joined on the London-wide list by Harini Iyengar, Jacquelyn Guderley, Isabelle Parasram, Melanie Howard, Joanna Shaw, Anila Dhami, Kate Massey-Chase, Alison Marshall, Chris Paouros and Rebecca Manson Jones. The candidates are already putting women’s equality at the top of the political agenda.

On Monday 1st February 2016  WE announced Anne Beetham and Lee Chalmers as its Scottish Parliament candidates for Glasgow and Lothian. They want to make Scotland the first gender equal country in the world and make Holyrood work harder for women.

On Tuesday 2nd February 2016 the party unveiled its four Welsh candidates for South Wales Central. Sarah Rees, Sharon Lovell, Ruth Williams and Emma Rose are standing to see everyday women represented in politics and to hold the Welsh Assembly to account on women’s equality.

For further information visit http://www.womensequality.org.uk/