Mandu Reid will be the Women's Equality Party candidate in the Lewisham East by-election. 

Published on 17 May 2018

WE are delighted to announce that Mandu Reid will contest the Lewisham East by-election on 14 June.

Mandu has lived in Lewisham for a decade and is the founder of The Cup Effect, an NGO which raises awareness about menstrual cups and campaigns to eliminate the taboos and stigma around menstruation in the UK and internationally.

As part of the Women’s Equality Party’s continued commitment to collaborative working, Mandu has today written to other progressive candidates in the race offering talks about a possible joint candidacy.

This will be the first parliamentary by-election that the Women’s Equality Party has stood in.

This is a short campaign – polling day is less than a month away, so WE are urging all our members and supporters to get involved with the campaign. It was in Lewisham where the Women's Equality Party gained its highest number of votes in the recent local elections. 

Mandu Reid, Women's Equality Party candidate for Lewisham East, said: 

“I love Lewisham – it’s my home and I want it to have a unique voice in Westminster that reflects the distinctiveness of the area.

“This by-election is a chance for us to vote for something hopeful and different and new, and to show that our votes cannot be taken for granted by anybody.

“I have never thought of myself as a politician before; but this year of all years – a century after the first women got the vote, when the #MeToo movement is showing that women will no longer accept the abuse and harassment that we have had to put up with for so long – I felt I had to put myself forward.

“I think it is essential that policies like universal free childcare and a new funding model for domestic violence refuges are on the ballot paper on 14 June, and I can’t wait to get out and make the case for both of them.”

Sophie Walker, Leader of the Women’s Equality Party, said:

“I am delighted that Mandu is standing for Women’s Equality Party, and that her first act as selected candidate is to write to other candidates in Lewisham East to propose a way of working together.

“The world is changing and traditional politics is failing to keep up. While Labour and the Conservatives continue to fight amongst themselves, voters are crying out for a hopeful, optimistic voice that will speak for issues that matter to them – childcare, social care, violence against women and girls – and work collaboratively to get the job done.

“It’s a manifesto and an approach that means one MP from a feminist political party could make a real impact in Westminster.

“Mandu’s inspirational work by founding The Cup Effect has already had a significant impact on women’s lives in the UK and internationally. Given the chance to be their MP, she can have a transformative effect for the residents of Lewisham East.”

More about Mandu: 

Mandu is the founder of charitable NGO and social enterprise The Cup Effect, which raises awareness about menstrual cups and works to eliminate the taboos and stigma that shroud menstruation in the UK and internationally.

She has worked for the Mayor of London for 10 years, where she has held a variety of roles focused on strategy, policy, and operations including playing a key role in the preparations and delivery of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Previously, she worked at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.  

Mandu has lived in Lewisham since 2008, and was previously a governor at a local secondary school. She has volunteered locally with Crisis and internationally with Street Child United.

Read her letters to the shortlisted candidates for the Labour party HERE and the Liberal Democrat candidate HERE.