The party was launched in February 2013 and claims on their website that ‘for over 40 years feminists have lied relentlessly about issues such as rape and domestic violence, making women excessively fearful of men, and in consequence hateful towards men as a class’.
The party has generated controversy for some of its claims in their 80-page election manifesto, including that only one in seven British women is ‘work-centred’The party has generated controversy for some of its claims in their 80-page election manifesto, including that only one in seven British women is ‘work-centred’ and that ‘the feminisation of the NHS over the past 30+ years has proved a disaster for patients (and taxpayers)’.
Their leader, Mike Buchanan, will be facing the Shadow Women and Equalities Minister, Gloria De Piero MP, who his party once presented with a ‘Lying Feminist of the Month Award’ following comments she made on the gender pay gap.
Buchanan previously worked for the Conservative Party from 2006-8, but resigned after David Cameron suggested using ‘all-women shortlists’De Piero only had a majority of 192 in Ashfield at the last general election.
A central point in the election manifesto is based around the assertion that ‘’in 2011/12 British men paid £68 billion more income tax than women, yet the state disadvantages men and boys in many areas, usually to advantage women and girls’.
‘there’s a pressing need for boys- only schools with all-male teaching staffs’In regard to education, the ‘Justice for Men and Boys’ party claims that ‘the state education system is run with the objective of advantaging girls over boys from their earliest years… the gap has led to women now taking the majority of university places (57% in 2012/13)’’.
As a result they believe that ‘there’s a pressing need for boys- only schools with all-male teaching staffs’.
The ‘Justice for Men and Boys’ party also take issue with ‘governments continuing to spend large amounts of taxpayers’ money ‘encouraging’ girls and young women into STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) subjects and careers’.
[They] criticised the government for ‘encouraging fatherless families… it should stop subsidizing sperm banks for single women and lesbians’‘‘It is widely understood that boys and men favour these subjects for reasons of aptitude… It should be obvious to the reader that the flipside of ‘advancing the careers of women’ must be ‘holding back the careers of men’’’.
Many of the other controversial policies in the manifesto relate to children and the family; the most prominent of which is that the right to an abortion should be limited to 13 weeks after conception.
The ‘Justice for men and boys’ party also advocates that all babies should be paternity tested and criticised the government for ‘encouraging fatherless families… it should stop subsidizing sperm banks for single women and lesbians’.
There appears to be a fundamental misunderstanding of what feminism is, and we [UoN Feminists] hope that this party will be willing to engage in dialogue and recognise the damage their policies would have to an already unequal society’’In addition, the manifesto proposes that the ‘Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002’ and ‘terms in the Equality Act 2010 advantaging people with ‘protected characteristics’ should be scrapped.
Responding to the news, a representative for the University of Nottingham Feminists told Impact: ‘‘On reading the manifesto, we feel a lot of their beliefs are unfounded and we question the need and usefulness of pitting men’s issues against women’s issues.
There appears to be a fundamental misunderstanding of what feminism is, and we hope that this party will be willing to engage in dialogue and recognise the damage their policies would have to an already unequal society’’.
Two other candidates from the ‘Justice for Men and Boys’ party will be running against Conservative MPs in Sherwood and Broxtowe.
However, George Highton, General Secretary of the Nottingham University Conservative Association, told Impact:
‘‘The Conservative’s Long Term Economic Plan and our passionate advocacy of women’s rights across the globe are clearly the best choice when it comes to the election, whether over Labour, the Lib Dems, UKIP or the Justice for Men Party’’.
Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu
Image: Flickr
All quotes taken from the party manifesto or their website.
Exclusive interview with Mike Buchanan, leader of the ‘Justice for Men and Boys (and the women who love them) party’, to follow.
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