Danielle Spencer — candidate for women’s officer
Personal statement by Danielle Spencer, standing for election as women’s officer of Hove Constituency Labour Party at its annual general meeting at Ralli Hall, 81 Denmark Villas, Hove BN3 3TH, at 11am on Sunday, February 5.
Danielle says:
“I am a supporter of the current leadership of the Labour Party.
“I have been an active community member all of my life and I started out as a youth worker in Liverpool, working with unaccompanied asylum seeker children. I have worked around the world as a development and humanitarian aid professional focusing on women’s and girls’ rights and services. I am now a women’s rights policy advisor for a large International NGO. Women’s rights are not a hobby for me, they are a passion and my chosen career. I therefore feel that my skill set is well suited to the role of Women’s Officer and will enable me to deliver this role in a transparent and accountable way.
“I moved back to the UK in 2014 to get more involved in politics and felt that there was (and remains) a real urgency for people to engage here in order to remove the Tories from power and retain rights which were hard fought for. I have been in Hove for a year and a half. I have delivered leaflets for the Labour Party, but I now think that the timing is right for me to take on a larger role and hope that you consider me to be qualified to take a position with the Executive Committee.
“As Women’s Officer, I will be committed to ensuring that the Labour Party engages women in Hove and will work closely with other members of the committee to ensure that women’s rights are taken into account within all aspects of the party’s work — from policy to issues of intersectionality with the LGBTI, disability and BAME reps and communities.
“I will spearhead campaign work to:
- Ensure that women and girls safety is prioritized in light of recent sexual assaults in the city — no woman or girls should be afraid to walk the streets of Hove;
- Address the shocking gender pay gap in Brighton and Hove by calling out employers who contribute to this gap;
- Reach out to the 4.5 thousand single working mothers in Brighton and Hove and engage them in the only political party that will deliver economic justice. As a woman who was brought up by a single working mother, I know just how disenfranchised this particular group of women can be, and how important it is to break down barriers so that their voices are heard and listened to; and
- Assess and respond to the ways in which the cuts to the NHS, cuts to public spending and failures in rail transport have specifically affected women and girls in Hove.
“Through a Hove women’s forum, the women of Hove Labour Party will receive training and support to stand for elections. I will engage with the national party and the Labour Women’s Network to support women from all walks of life to engage in politics. From ensuring that there are adequate provisions put in place so that women are able and comfortable to attend and speak up during branch meetings, to providing access to the right kind of training for women to stand for election — I will work tirelessly so that no woman is left behind by Labour in Hove.”
