Cross-Party Support for 50:50 Parliament

On November 21st as part of #AskHerToStand Day 2020, the Prime Minister, Party Leaders and MPs released videos backing 50:50 Parliament as the campaign reached out to men and women nationwide calling upon everyone to help women get selected and elected.

Videos released by Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon, Angela Rayner and Ed Davey and our “Women Your Country Needs YOU!” campaign inspired thousands to visit the 50:50 website and almost 2,000 women to #SignUpToStand.

What Happens When I Sign Up to Stand?

If you click on #SignUpToStand, 50:50 will help you every step of the way to get selected and elected. Each woman is given concrete practical support by the 50:50 team:

• An interactive Personal Political Profile;
• A 50:50 Buddy for peer support;
• Weekly party-specific Bite-Size zoom meetings;
• Access to further support from the Diversity team if needed.

Why wait? You can #SignUpToStand today.

How Did We Celebrate?

We hosted a Zoom event that was attended by over 150 men and women from across the country. We heard from some amazing MPs who have all supported women. They gave some great advice saying that support networks are essential.

This is fantastic news as that is exactly what we are building at 50:50 Parliament: a 50:50 Network of support that is cross-party and nationwide.

The 21st November event was hosted by Frances Scott and Dolly Theis. This year we have over 1,800 women who have signed up to stand, and we are now aiming for 2,020 by the end of 2020.

The Speakers

Ed Davey MP

Ed Davey MP was the first to speak at our evening event because he had to leave early for childcare reasons – something we ALL support. As the leader of the Liberal Democrats, he released a video supporting #AskHerToStand Day. Ed told the story of his first meeting with Sarah Olney and telling her she would make not only a fantastic council candidate but a fantastic MP. He buddied her up with then-leader Tim Farron, and now she is MP for Richmond. One of 7 fantastic Lib Dem women MPs.

Claire Countinho MP

Next up was Claire Coutinho MP who also recorded a video for #AskHerToStand Day. Claire has been an MP since 2019 and highlighted the value of networks, citing both 50:50 and the Conservative’s Women2Win, in her journey to be an MP. “All those friendships that were created throughout those groups were enormously helpful.” On 50:50 she says “One of the things I love about this group is that it is cross-party and that no matter where you want to go, or even if you haven’t decided which party yet, you can go to someone here and talk to them.” Claire has even encouraged a woman who wanted to become a Labour MP. Now THAT’S cross-party politics!

Abena Oppong-Asare MP

Abena Oppong-Asare also became an MP in 2019 and leads the Labour Women’s Network. Abena argues that All Women Shortlists have been key in getting women into public office. “We have seen a rise in the number of women being elected,” with 51% of Labour MPs being women since 2019. She accepts that some disagree with this approach, but she believes that firm measures are needed to improve representation. “Intersectionality is important as well – if you are a woman of colour you are most likely to get abuse and that is really something we need to address.” For many women, it is important to recognise the journey won’t be easy. “You will need those allies, male and female, in that journey.” Abena points to her Parliamentary colleague Wes Streeting as a fantastic ally.

Guy Opperman MP

Guy Opperman MP started by saying “It’s a great honour and privilege to be one of the men here.” Guy has been Director of Training at Women2Win since 2012 and reckons he has helped to mentor hundreds of women! He puts a huge emphasis on practice and preparation: film yourself public speaking, write down the three main issues that you care most about. Work with others on speech preparation & presentation. “We also focus on increasing the pipeline so there are incredible women ready not just for the next election, but for all future elections.”

Wendy Chamberlain MP

Wendy Chamberlain carried her 50:50 Tote bag while our canvasing and was elected in 2019. She says constituency case work is always such a vital part of the role of an MP, but particularly so this year, and likens it to her job as a police officer before becoming a politician. She says don’t be afraid to ask for help. Her own Liberal Democrat Whatsapp group is a huge source of support especially when you’ve had a bad day. Her main tips: get approved, get help and pay it forward! She says it is crucial to ask women more than once to give them encouragement.

Wes Streeting MP

Wes Streeting MP gave some of the best advice of the night: “Politics is about teams. We don’t get elected by ourselves. We’re not superheroes and we’re not exceptional. We’re just people who put ourselves forward with really strong teams behind us.” Wes says men need to go above just asking women to stand: “You need to make sure you’re there for them when they do.” We have to have a skin like a rhinoceros sometimes in politics so having that strong support network can make all the difference. Wes also recommends standing for local government and regional assemblies, saying that on the issues he cares most about, the regional assemblies actually have a lot of power compared to Westminster.