Thread by @WepWomen

🧵 Today @ManduReid gave her key note Conference speech to a staggering 110 people.

This must be a record for the smallest conference speech ever.

It is with profound pain that we tweet this.

A speech high in emotion & platitudes, low in content.

Huge claims, included ‘bringing down Borris’s government. Yes really.

Since last conference, full of promise around donut economy, Black maternal deaths & more have amounted to nothing.

No campaigns. Zero.

This conference *should have been a vibrant conference celebrating campaign gains- celebrating how motions on paper are transformed into real change.

It could have been a diverse dynamic hub of women recruited during the campaign process….

Mandu *could have opened conference with a dynamic and necessary work programme.

With attacks on repro rights Mandu *could have brought a motion on legalising abortion. Or pushing back on the proliferation of women’s prisons, supporting the super complaint on stalking…

Or campaigns on pushing their policies in your council, with your MP…

But there was nothing tangible.

As members we have to ask, how can a party, with paid employees, with three paid deputies (appointed not elected) have such a low output?

For all the hyperbole there is no..

.. detail. No reports of achievements, no visibility, no interaction.

Neither does there seem to be any accountability as to value for money.

The paid appointed deputies were controversial enough at the time- but their two year term is up & not a whisper..

Yet orgs making real change (including but not limited to) @PregnantScrewed @SBSisters @fairplaywomen @SexMattersOrg @Womans_Place_UK do so on a shoestring.

So what is going on? How did a Party of thousands of active members end up as 110 watching their leaders speech?

@FiLiA_charity had a conference of 1800 only last month, this weeks #WPUK meeting pulling in 750 registrations….

Yet Fawcett pulled in barely 100 & WEP only a handful more- it’s hard to conclude anything other than women only come out for orgs that recognise their sex.

And on the morning of conference, when our Party should be in the papers, instead we see the women they have ostracised.

@K_IngalaSmith gave her time to give evidence to our consultation on self ID. Her expert testimony was ignored.

thetimes.co.uk/article/counti…

And as #16days progresses, @WEP_UK ignores the UN VAWG rapporteurs clear advice re self ID & has no programme of action.

Karen does. She wrote a book & is asking women 2 sponsor a copy for their MPs.
Please do, at least someone is #DefendingWomensSpaces
niaendingviolence.org.uk/sponsor-a-copy…

And yes self ID was passed. 83% in fact. There was simply no one left to vote against.

Some in the Party may think that is a victory. But 110 turnout for a leaders speech is anything but.

Thank you for reading.