Call for Resignation of Philip Davies MP

Philip Davies, as the MP for Shipley you are responsible for representing the needs of thousands of women. As former residents of Shipley, we feel that you are unable to do this job due to your history of voting against equality legislation, making anti-feminist comments and attending conferences with known misogynists. We respectfully request that you resign from your position so that it can be taken by someone who values the interests of women and recognises the discrimination that they face on a daily basis.

You recently attended the International Conference on Men's Issues, which was organised by the Justice for Men and Boys group (J4MB). This group campaigns against gender equality initiatives, including the Gender Equality Act 2010, and hands out sexist 'awards' such as "whiny feminist of the month". Although you claim that you do not support this group, by speaking at this conference you have publicly demonstrated that, at the very least, you do not oppose its values.

In your speech, you expressed anti-feminist views by saying, “In this day and age the feminist zealots really do want women to have their cake and eat it”. This shows a hatred, or at least a misunderstanding, of the feminist movement and everything that it stands for. Feminism aims to attain equality between people of all genders, which you have actively worked to prevent by arguing against equality targets in the workplace and tabling a private member’s bill to repeal the Sex Discrimination Act 2002.

We believe that these actions and comments show that you are against gender equality, and therefore unfit to represent the women who live and work in your constituency. You have stated that you “don’t believe there’s an issue between men and women. The problem is being stirred up by those who can be described as militant feminists and the politically correct males who pander to this nonsense." This is despite the wealth of data and research that shows that women are paid less than men and are less likely to be promoted to a senior management role but far more likely to be sexually harassed or assaulted at work.

As you are unable or unwilling to acknowledge the existence of sexism in British society, we believe that you are consequently unable to defend and stand up for the women of your constituency. As an MP, you are required to act in the best interests of your constituents, but your misogynistic attitudes make you incapable of doing so. We therefore request that you remove yourself from parliament so that the people of Shipley can benefit from an MP who has all of their best interests at heart.