Posie Parker’s Party of Women fails to gain any seats in local elections 

Candidates running for Posie Parker’s Party of Women have failed to gain seats in the wards they stood in, although Parker has celebrated the votes they did receive.

Parker, whose real name is Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, is one of the UK’s most recognisable anti-trans campaigners and set out to launch her party back in 2023.

The party was twice rejected by the Electoral Commission before the application to register the party was approved in February.

In the local elections on Thursday (2 May), Parker’s party had five candidates standing for seats across the country; Tara Hughes for Stockport’s Davenport and Cale Green ward, Sarah Freeman and Esther Knight for Lincoln’s Park and Minster wards, Charlotte Hawkins for Wolverhampton’s Fallings Park and Sally James for Ellesmere Port’s Wolverham ward.

Hughes received 139 votes with a difference of 127 votes between herself and fifth place candidate Nathan Lumb, of the Conservatives.

In Lincoln’s Park ward Freeman placed sixth with 83 votes, nine votes behind Reform UK’s Ben Jackson, whilst in the Minster ward Knight also came in sixth with 84 votes – with just one vote between herself and the Lib Dem’s Aidan Turner.

James came in fourth in the Wolverham ward with 42 votes, placing ahead of the Conservatives (31) and Lib Dems (35).

In Wolverhampton, Hawkins received 161 votes, putting her in third place ahead of the Lib Dem’s Peter Nixon (113).

Whilst the results were likely not want Parker wanted, she still seemed happy with them.

Posting on X/Twitter, Parker wrote: “We had four weeks and little budget for our campaigns, getting numbers close to Lib Dems and greens is a staggering achievement.”

Parker recently travelled to Edinburgh to hold a “Let Women Speak” rally, which was met by a substantial counter protest in the Scottish capital.

The Telegraph reported that Keen-Minshull claimed the purpose of the rally was to “test the law” to see how the police would handle “gender-critical” chants in light of Scotland’s new hate crime legislation.

The Edinburgh rally, which began at 1pm on 6 April, was met by opposition from pro-transgender groups, including Cabaret Against the Hate Speech (CAHS) who describe themselves as “an LGBTQ+ group that organises counter protests against all forms of hate speech across Scotland with live music, song and dance.”