Party of Women

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Party of Women
AbbreviationPOW
LeaderKellie-Jay Keen-Minshull
Nominating officerPaul Duddridge
TreasurerKellie-Jay Keen
Founded2023 (2023)
Registered8 February 2024 (2024-02-08)[1]
HeadquartersBath, Somerset, South West England[1]
IdeologyGender critical ideology
Anti-transgender
Colours  Black,   white,   magenta and   turquoise
House of Commons
0 / 650
Councillors[2]
1 / 18,766
Election symbol
Website
www.partyofwomen.org

The Party of Women (POW) is a gender-critical[3][4] and anti-transgender[5] single-issue political party in the United Kingdom, which opposes what it refers to as "trans ideology".[6][7][8] It was founded in 2023 by Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (also known as Posie Parker) and registered in February 2024.[9]

History

The first application to register the party with the Electoral Commission was rejected in September 2023, due to issues with the proposed constitution and financial schemes.[10] Following an additional failed application in November, the party was formally registered in February 2024.[11][12] The party has aligned itself with Keen-Minshull's views.[9]

On 1 March, the party issued an announcement, committing it to revoke the Gender Recognition Act 2004, and stating that it would reinforce the rights of cisgender women and girls.[13]

The Party of Women stood five candidates in the 2024 local elections, receiving a total of 509 votes with no candidates being elected.[12]

A total of 16 candidates stood for the party at the 2024 United Kingdom general election,[14] receiving a total of 5,077 votes.[15] Keen stood in the new Bristol Central constituency[16] but lost her deposit after gaining only 0.5% of the vote.[17]

Election results

House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Election year Total
candidates		 Total votes % Seats won Rank
2024 16 5,077 0.02 0 Steady 34

Local government

The party has never won any election to a local council in England or Wales. It has only ever obtained councillors through defection.

Cllr Mandy Clare of Cheshire West and Chester Council defected to the party in March 2024,[18] having left Labour, giving the party their first representative in local government. Clare left the party a few months later in July 2024[19] to sit as an Independent, before joining Reform UK, then subsequently being arrested for assault.[20] The charges were later dropped due to insufficient evicence.[21]

Cllr Vanessa Bell of Maldon District Council in Essex defected to the party, currently serving as their only elected representative. Bell represents the ward of Burnham-on-Crouch South.[22]

See also

References

  1. "Registration summary – Party Of Women". electoralcommission.org.uk. 8 February 2024.
  2. "Open Council Data UK". opencouncildata.co.uk.
  3. Attenborough, Frederick (19 February 2024). "Local Labour Party branch pressures pub into cancelling Conservative-run debate with gender-critical activist". The Free Speech Union. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  4. "It's our party and we'll cry if we want to | Jean Hatchet". The Critic Magazine. 10 June 2024.
  5. "Election candidates set out their stalls in Sidmouth hustings". Sidmouth Herald. 20 June 2024.
  6. Storey, Eleanor (10 June 2024). "Linda Law launches election campaign for Party of Women". Eastern Daily Press.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. Storey, Eleanor (6 June 2024). "Norfolk Police to attend Let Women Speak event in Norwich". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  8. "Linda Law challenges Clive Lewis on his 'views on women'". Eastern Daily Press. 28 June 2024.
  9. Smith, Mark (8 March 2024). "Cheshire West councillor quits group to join new party". Northwich Guardian.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. Perry, Sophie (29 September 2023). "Posie Parker's political party rejected by electoral commission". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  11. Perry, Sophie (14 November 2023). "Posie Parker's political party rejected by Electoral Commission for the second time". PinkNews. Retrieved 8 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. Perry, Sophie (3 May 2024). "Posie Parker's Party of Women fails to gain any seats in local elections". PinkNews. Retrieved 8 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. "Party of Women Newsletter 1 March 2024". Party of Women. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  14. Keeling, Peter (9 June 2024). "2024 UK general election candidate summary". Democracy Club. Retrieved 9 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. "UK election results 2024 | Constituency map". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  16. Hobbs, Phoebe (8 June 2024). "Activist Kellie-Jay Keen announces campaign for Bristol Central". Bristol Live.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. Perry, Sophie (5 July 2024). "Anti-trans activist Posie Parker loses deposit after dismal election performance". PinkNews. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  18. Mandy Clare [@MandyClareTERF] (25 March 2024). "I am the first Party of Women local borough councillor (Cheshire, UK) and have lots of examples to share of how women councillors advocating for women's rights are being aggressively silenced. Will you interview me @BBCWomansHour" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  19. Goulding, Rob (17 March 2025). "CWAC's Mandy Clare joins Nigel Farage's Reform UK Party". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  20. Jameson, Anna (8 August 2025). "Reform councillor denies Pride event assault". BBC News. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  21. Ferguson, Angela (10 December 2025). "Reform UK councillor's assault charge dropped". BBC News. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  22. "Open Council Data UK: councillors parties compositions api emails datasets elections". opencouncildata.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2026.