Meet the candidate aiming to bring women’s issues to the forefront of its election – through one of its newest parties.
Laura Mackintosh, 37, is running on the Edinburgh and Lothians East regional list as part of a three-candidate strong line-up of the Equality Party.
Founded as a phoenix party of the now-dissolved Women’s Equality Party, which was itself co-founded by former QI presenter Sandi Toksvig in 2015.
The Women’s Equality Party dissolved in November 2024.
Mackintosh said: “We’d really like to work towards equal representation, equal pay and opportunities, and public services like the NHS that work for everybody without discrimination.
“We feel quite strongly about bringing an end to gender and hate-based violence and abuse.”
The Equality Party have two elected representatives in England, who were originally elected as part of the Women’s Equality Party.
Mackintosh has a background in media and law. This election is her first ever campaign for elected office, having chosen the Equality Party through Elect Her, a group which aims to bring women further into politics.
When asked about the party’s issues, Mackintosh pointed to several issues that impact women in Scotland, as well as helping fund public services including the NHS.
Mackintosh said: “I think one of the big goals is to kind of try and dismantle the patriarchal system, the government we have at the moment, and bring in a new system that prioritises the well-being of people and and the planet.”
She added: “I know from experience, there are a lot of parents that, because of the high cost of childcare, aren’t able to work, because they’d end up essentially working to pay for childcare.
“There needs to be a lot of work done around enabling parents to be able to afford childcare so that they can go out and work, because there is a huge population of women who would be working if they could be.”
Mackintosh also claimed that “statistics show that if that was the case, it would bring over £2bn back into the Scottish economy.”
In 2021, PWC’s Women in Work index suggested that £3.8bn could be added to Scotland’s economy by levelling-up female workforce participation to match the highest performing region of the UK.
The party will hold an event in Edinburgh city centre on 25 April to discuss issues with voters.
