WEP urge people to give half their votes to equality in London Mayoral elections
27 April 2016: Today the Women's Equality Party kicks off its campaign for the London Mayoral elections urging people to give half of their votes to equality.
Londoners can be identified by a combination of factors spanning race, religion, gender, or any other number of signifiers. But when it comes to politics, people become defined by just one label: their choice of party. Not any more.
Cheil London's campaign for WEP explains how Londoners can vote in a way that supports equality and not just their political party in this year's election. People will be given two votes on their ballot paper on 5th May, and WEP is calling for people to give one of those two votes to their party, so show the other political parties that they support equality.
The campaign is made up of a number of films featuring WEP leader and Mayoral candidate Sophie Walker, party founder Sandi Toksvig, singer Lily Allen, chef Jack Monroe, psychotherapist Philippa Perry and actor Hugh Quarshie, alongside a host of notable Londoners, to explain why they are voting for equality.
Sophie Walker's film features a powerful message about equality by having half of her words bleeped out. “You can only hear half of what I'm saying. Unfortunately, that's not uncommon when it comes to women's voices in politics,” she explains, ending the ad with message that runs throughout the campaign: “Give half of your votes to equality, WE think that's fair.”
The campaign runs across online and social media platforms and will include shareable images demonstrating how Londoners can give half their votes to equality.
Sophie Walker, Women’s Equality Party leader and London Mayoral candidate, said: “The Women's Equality Party are doing politics differently. We're extremely proud of this campaign showing how Londoners can lend their voice to the battle for equality while still supporting their personal politics. There is one place where all Londoners are equal - at the ballot box - and WE hope they will join our campaign to give half their votes to equality on 5 May.”
Caitlin Ryan, Executive Creative Director at Cheil London, said: “This campaign has a brilliant range of voices giving their support to equality because London is a melting pot of different races, backgrounds and beliefs. It shows why supporting equality is the best kind of identifier, and why it's about time things changed. We're honoured to be working with WEP.”