MotheRED announces second round of funding for mums standing to be MPs

The MotheRED campaign, which has provided grants to mothers seeking to stand as a Labour Party parliamentary candidate, has announced that it will be running a second round of funding with support from the trade union movement.

MotheRED, launched in March, is modelled on the ‘Emily’s List’ programme that supported women getting selected ahead of the 1997 election. Writing for LabourList last month, Stella Creasy MP unveiled the first 18 women to receive a grant. The campaign is inviting more Labour members to apply for funding.

Commenting on the additional funding round announced this morning, the Labour MP for Walthamstow said: “In the middle of a cost of living crisis, it’s vital that we don’t let financial barriers hold talented people back from standing.

“Working with trade unions like Unison and Community and the hundreds of Labour members who have already supported this campaign, we want to go further and make sure Labour’s candidates at the next election include mothers.”

Selection processes to pick the candidates who will contest parliamentary seats in the next general election on behalf of the Labour Party are progressing across the country. LabourList revealed earlier this year the first and second tranches of Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) that have been allowed to begin selections.

Creasy said the first round of applications saw Labour members who represented “the full diversity of our party and our country” apply, with a third from minority community backgrounds, a third who are single parents and 20% having a disability.

“So often mums are deterred from standing for parliament – MotheRED aims to reverse that and actively encourage them to run. With our first round of funding, we were inundated with applications from brilliant candidates who represented the full diversity of our party and our country,” she said.

“With selections gathering pace, every pound we can raise now will help us support even more mums to run for parliament. The amazing mums who are putting themselves forward represent the best of our party, and we need to make sure they are able to run without worrying about the financial cost.”

LabourList revealed the first 14 CLPs the national executive committee (NEC) agreed could start picking candidates in March: Stretford and Urmston; Southampton Test; Huddersfield; Doncaster Central; Bury North; Gedling; Warrington South; Burnley; Leigh; Stroud; Truro and Falmouth; Milton Keynes South; York Outer; and Carlisle.

The NEC agreed a further 21 seats last month: Bassetlaw; Birmingham Northfield; Bishop Auckland; Chingford and Woodford Green; Cities of London and Westminster; Dover; Erewash; Exeter; Hartlepool; Hastings and Rye; Hendon; Ipswich; Norwich North; Penistone and Stocksbridge; Peterborough; Plymouth Moor View; Shipley; South Swindon; Southampton Itchen; Stoke-on-Trent Central; and Watford.

The date of the next general election is not set. Labour had intended to complete trigger ballots for sitting MPs by June. The hundreds of local parties other than the initial 35 given the go ahead should hold their selections contests by March 2023.