Women’s Equality party to abolish itself

So. Farewell then the Women’s Equality party. Founded to much fanfare by Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer in 2015, the self-proclaimed ‘intersectional feminist organisation’ has decided to push for its own abolition at a special conference next month. It comes after a decade of stunning electoral success that saw them win a single seat in Hampshire in this year’s local elections. At this general, they then fielded four candidates across the country who won a combined total of 1,275 votes. How will Westminster cope with their absence?

In a lengthy self-justificatory piece for the Observer today, the co-founders cite financial challenges and a changed political and media context as reasons for why the party is no longer the most effective way to campaign for women’s rights. ‘It even used to be possible to work with those Conservatives who regarded gender inequality and climate change as urgent issues rather than fodder for culture wars,’ they sigh.