#Votingmatters – Thank you
#V O T I N G M A T T E R S – T H A N K S !
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The UK general election took place on Thursday 7th May and the @Emilymatters team, as part of the international #Votingmatters campaign, worked to encourage young people and women in the UK to vote.
Thank you to everyone who got involved with our virtual #Votingmatters #vmparty that paid tribute to the suffragettes and celebrated the right to vote as well as to all those who supported with our suffragette Twibbon.
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@Emilymatters is a social media campaign, inspired by suffragette Emily Davison, to support and advance gender equality, particularly focusing on the importance of voting.
Since its launch at the House of Commons last February, with a performance of my Emily Davison play (To Freedom’s Cause) and a debate about the continued relevance of the campaign for equality, which included Dr Helen Pankhurst (great granddaughter of suffragette leader Emmeline), Yas Necati (leading feminist campaigner) and Jane Garvey (BBC Woman’s Hour presenter) the campaign has continued to go from strength to strength.
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For some time Glasgow has played an important role in the campaign. It was a conversation with one of the city’s first time voters 0n the eve of the Scottish Independence Referendum which inspired our #DearLauren message to a first time voter, which brought in a wave of positive tweets and posts from across the UK and beyond.
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I have close personal ties to the city having studied, worked and voted there. I’m proud to have called Glasgow my home and would love it to continue to be a part of our future plans.
Whatever your political views, results of the 2015 general election did include some progress with regards to better representation (for example, the percentage of women MPs at Westminster rose from 22% to 29%) and voter turnout (the British Election Study estimates the percentage of 18-24 year olds who voted rose from 44% to 58%).
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However, voting is just the start and there is clearly still much to be done. I hope #Emilymatters will continue to contribute to that positive momentum, which I hope will lead to a much more representative UK Parliament sooner rather than later.
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I created #Emilymatters as part of a one-off event to support Emily Thornberry MP’s Emily Davison Statue in Parliament campaign. Without any planning, things really began to take off and by the autumn of 2014 the campaign really began to open up with the first of our highly successful #Votingmatters Twitter Chats.
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I am incredibly grateful to the #Emilymatters team: Amanda Holmes, Ayath Ullah, Chloe Hutchinson, Jack Welch, Kirsty Murray and Mehvash Ahmad who were integral to the success of the Twitter chats and have continued to take the campaign to new heights.
Whilst a battalion of supporters took on this fledging idea and really got behind it. They include:
Abi Daly, Anke, Brian Astbury, Catford WI, Charlotte, Chante, Clare McLeod, Claudine Adeyemi, Deborah Richards, Dickie James, Eleanor Dennison, Eleanor Rehahn, Emily Thornberry MP, Emma Thompson, Glasgow Women’s Aid, Helen J Aitken, Irene Cockroft, Jaimie-Leigh Grierson, Jenny Garrett, Karen Webb, Laura Curran MYP, Laura Pankurst, Louvain Rees, Lucy Allan MP, Matthew Ward, Muriel McClymont, Naomi Paxton, NAWO Youth, Nicola Gauld, Noor Kay, Peoples’ Politics, Penny Lamport, Poetry Cat, Rachel Cochrane, Rani Singh, RHUL Fem Soc, Roweena Russell, Ruth Urquhart, Sarah Champion MP, Shane Jessop, Sharon Marshall, Staffordshire Women’s Aid, Stella Duffy, Suffragette – the film, Talat Yaqoob, Tamina Mir, the WEA, William Jones, Yas Necati, and Yazmin Joy Vigus.
Thank you to everyone who has got involved so far. You do Emily Davison and her sister suffragettes proud!
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Voting is just the start. We’re busy planning future creative projects that will encourage young people and women, not only to vote, but to step up and lead.
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There are exciting times ahead so please do get in touch!
You can find us on:
#Votingmatters in Glasgow and beyond!
Listening and valuing what others have to say is very much a a part of what we do. It matters to me that you are heard and not just at election time.
Kate
Actor & Writer of Emily Wilding Davison play To Freedom’s Cause
