Women’s Equality Party leader and London Mayoral candidate Sophie Walker is proposing to Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith this leap day.
Ms Walker, 44, is taking advantage of the one day every four years when women are ‘allowed’ to propose by popping a question to the two men in her life – fellow mayoral candidates, Mr Khan and Mr Goldsmith.
This February 29, Ms Walker is asking Mr Khan and Mr Goldsmith to vote for her on May 5 2016.
“I’m taking advantage of the day when women are “allowed” to propose to men, to ask the two men in my life – Zac and Sadiq – to make a special commitment.
“I’m proposing that they vote for me as Mayor of London because I’m the only one of all of us who has policies to end violence against women in London,” she said.
“Everyone in London has two votes for Mayor, so Zac and Sadiq can put me as their first or second choice – either is fine – to show that they really care about women’s equality and safety.”
Ms Walker is campaigning to end violence against women and girls in the capital and to make the city’s transport network safer and more accessible.
She said: “This is a light-hearted overture with a very serious aim. London’s four million women are statistically more likely than women anywhere else in the UK to face danger on the streets and public transport.
“Last year there were 4,000 incidents of rape reported in London. We know the reporting rate is about 1 in 10, so we can estimate the real number to be around 40,000.
“That’s about the same rate as knife-crime. Yet there is no corresponding outcry about rape and none of the other candidates apart from me have singled this out as an issue that needs to be addressed urgently.”
Tooting MP Mr Khan is proud of the Labour Party’s efforts in tackling gender equality.
“We need to keep the issue of gender equality firmly on the table. I have two daughters and so this is personal to me,” said Mr Khan.
“I am proud of the Labour Party’s track record on tackling gender inequality. As a result of women-only short lists, at the last local election the Wandsworth Labour Party returned seven new female councillors out of eight.
“I fought the last General Election on a manifesto that included plans for a Violence against Women and Girls Bill, to appoint a commissioner to set minimum standards in tackling domestic and sexual violence and to provide more stable central funding for women’s refuges and Rape Crisis Centres.
“However, it is vital that, as a society, we don’t fool ourselves that the job is done – it is not”.
Mr Goldsmith was unavailable to comment on Ms Walker’s proposal.
Image courtesy of the Women’s Equality Party, with thanks
