Diva UK – September 2019

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MANDU REID IS THE NEW LEADER OF THE WOMEN’S EQUALITY

PARTY. SHE TELLS CARRIE LYELL WHAT IT MEANS TO BE THE

FIRST BLACK, BISEXUAL LEADER OF A POLITICAL PARTY IN

THE UK, AND HOW HER IDENTITY INFORMS HER POLITICS

“It’s a strange thing for the leader of
the Women’s Equality Party to admit,
but I think it’s fair to say I was a late
developer when it comes to femi-
nism,” chuckles Mandu Reid warmly.
“I only really recognised myself as a
feminist in my mid 20s.”
Growing up in what was then
Swaziland, in the twilight years of the
Apartheid regime, young Mandu –
with a black mother and white father

• wasn’t thinking about feminism,
  because there was an issue more
  pressing; inequality and injustice
  along racial lines, which she says she
  was “acutely aware” of. “That was
  most pertinent to my family... Racial
  inequality was more at the front of
  my mind growing up.”
  Politicians have developed some-
  thing of a reputation for avoiding
  questions or diverting the conversa-
  tion, but not Mandu. Throughout the
  course of our interview, the 38-year-
  old is refreshingly honest. A skilful
  orator, she puts her points across with
  a punch, never once feeling rehearsed,
  PR or plastic. No surprise, really, given
  that a career in politics wasn’t on the
  agenda until fairly recently. “It was
  never a master plan to find myself
  leading a political party,” she admits,
  laughing. So how did this latecomer
  to feminism, who didn’t plan on being
  a politician, find herself taking over
  from Sophie Walker as leader of this
  fledgling political party in April 2019?
  “[Realising] that there’s a deep,
  grave, prevailing injustice along
  gender lines, and that it has not been

solved, put me on this trajectory.

Certain personal experiences elevated

and accelerated that process. I dab-

bled with politics; as a member of the

Labour Party for a little while. I didn’t

find that a fulfilling experience. I was

disappointed with my experience

there, so I left and vowed never to join

another political party. But then the

WEP came along and I thought, ‘That

sounds really interesting’. I sniffed

around the activities in my local area,

but was reluctant to become a mem-

ber – to be more committed – until I

understood better what the function

and purpose of the party was. What

the actual policies were. I thought,

‘Hang on a minute. This is something

I ought not just to take an interest

in. This is something that I ought to

throw my energy and passion into’.”

Energetic and passionate are

definitely words I would use to de-

scribe Mandu, who comes alive as our

conversation progresses, delivering

fiery monologues on everything from

climate change, far-right populism

and LGBTQI equality to the current

resident of Number 10 and the fail-

ures of the larger political parties. “I’m

so talkative, sorry!” she laughs. “They

should have warned you...”

What would she say to those

who might argue that, in a first-past-

the-post political system, smaller

parties like WEP are unlikely to make

much difference? Does she feel her

skills could be better utilised in the

Labour Party, for example? “To get the

things I believe in top of the Labour

Party’s agenda is not going to happen

on a timeline I’d be happy with, if I

was inside, and had to navigate the

horrendously bureaucratic, internal

politics of quite an ancient organi-

sation... I reject the idea that being

inside those mammoth organisations,

that are past the sell-by date, is the

way to make change.”

Certainly, Mandu doesn’t strike

me as a career politician – she’s far

more interested in making a mean-

ingful difference than in personal

gain. For her, it’s “about trying to

play my part in creating a world that

generations after us actually want

to inherit” and success isn’t about

winning elections – though that, of

course, would be nice. “I’m much

more interested in focussing my en-

ergy directly on what matters, rather

than on what’s convenient,” she tells

me plainly. “If I wanted status, if I

wanted to be an MP – I’m not saying

I don’t want those things – but if that

was my primary motivation, of course

it would make sense for me to try

and ingratiate myself into old party

structures. But I’m interested in other

things, and I believe when we’re

I want to be able to

look back and feel that

I was true to myself”

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