WOMEN in Redditch have been urged to step forward and act in the town’s best interests by local MP Rachel Maclean.
Speaking at borough Mayor Juliet Brunner’s ‘EqualiTeas’ tea party in the Town Hall, she said: “If you know of a woman in your local community who is passionate about improving the lives of those around her, ask them, would you consider stepping up and representing your community, to be a councillor, an MP, a magistrate – there are so many important roles.”
Mrs Maclean, who had previously unsuccessfully contested the Northfield constituency before succeeding in Redditch, then praised the town’s role in promoting women, listing former Mayor Madge Tillesley, MPs Jacqui Smith and Karen Lumley and sportswomen like Claire Cashmore.
“I recently attended the Redditch Women of Achievement Awards and it was inspiring – there is so much to celebrate and I believe we are champions of equality in our town because we have such a large number of women who have made such a difference in public life.”
Earlier she had quoted the suffragist Millicent Fawcett who said: ‘Courage calls to courage everywhere and its voice cannot be denied’.
However Mrs Maclean said women still had a long way to go and still didn’t have equality in Parliament, in the Cabinet of her own Government, or in many other walks of life.
She told those in the Town Hall: “It is incumbent on everyone in this room to take away this message – you can step up, you can be a councillor, an MP and Police and Crime Commissioner, you can take on any of these roles and we need you to do it because you have so much to give.”
