Ask your MP: UK General Election

Firstly, we encourage all our members to vote. Over 100 years ago in 1918, when certain women over the age of thirty gained suffrage, the Mothers’ Union journal highlighted to members that ‘the vote is a duty we owe to womankind – a responsibility laid upon us by God…it is not a privilege conferred on us by men, for have not the women of this generation earned it?’

A whole century on, the message is still the same: use your democratic vote. Not only does it mean we are engaging with working with our country on a local and national level, but it also honours those who came before us, and fought for us to have the right to use our voices in politics and speak truth to power.

In addition, we want to ensure that the issues that Mothers’ Union and its members care about are at the forefront of the election candidates’ minds. We have therefore developed the following selection of questions that you can ask your local candidates, based on our current priorities. Feel free to pick and choose.

You can find out who your local candidates are by going to WhoCanIVoteFor.co.uk

When contacting your MP, we also suggest you share your own stories. Storytelling is a powerful way of showing how we, as Mothers’ Union, are transforming lives around the corner and around the world. You can use a story from your local branch, or from our website, Connected (our membership magazine) or social media. Don’t forget you can also share the difference being a Mothers’ Union member has made in your own life.

Women's representation in politics and public life:

Mothers’ Union is committed in all its work to empowering women.

Q: How will you ensure that women’s rights are at the heart of government policy making, including ensuring that policies are sensitive to gender and diversity and that women are equally represented in decision-making roles?

Domestic abuse:

Mothers’ Union works globally and nationally to prevent domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence and to support survivors. In the UK, RISE UP Against Domestic Abuse is Mothers’ Union’s new campaign to raise awareness about domestic abuse, encouraging members to 'Respond, Inform, Support, Empower, Unite and Pray'. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone from any walk of life. It's our goal that Mothers' Union members and churches will work together to be a part of the change through our our RISE UP challenge.

Q:  If elected, what resources will your party put in place to support survivors of domestic abuse, through refuges and local services, to enable good implementation of the Domestic Abuse act?

Q:  How will your party strengthen education, from primary level upwards, about healthy relationships as a key means of preventing domestic abuse?

Mothers’ Union welcomed the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act in 2021, but there were significant omissions, particularly in its protections for migrant women. Q:  Will you support the extension of the provisions to give protection to women of insecure immigration status?

The UK’s Global role:

Mothers’ Union has around 4 million members across 83 countries. Each year, across the world, Mothers’ Union members work tirelessly to improve the quality of life for those around them, by putting their faith into action. We're working to ensure that adults (particularly women) across the world who missed out on education get the opportunity to gain literacy skills later in life. Find out more here.   

Q:  If elected,  will you support the inclusion of adult women in Literacy programmes worldwide?

The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are an unprecedented agreement, adopted by every single United Nation member state in 2015. They provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future, and include goals to end poverty, improve health and education globally, reduce inequality, and tackle climate change.

Q:  If elected, what will you do to ensure that the UK takes ambitious action to fulful its commitments to the SDGs ?

Q:  If elected, will you work to ensure that the SDGs’ central principle of  ‘leave no one behind’ is placed at the heart of the UK’s international development policy and programmes, to ensure a focus on the most marginalised including women and girls?

We’d be very grateful if you could tell us about any responses you receive, by emailing us at policy@mothersunion.org. Note that we won’t be publishing the responses publicly. We would also welcome any feedback on the questions themselves.

Finally, we encourage all our members to pray. Whoever wins on the 4 July, let's pray that they will be one in heart and mind towards making our world a better place, and that they will have the courage, wisdom and integrity to make the right decisions.