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Esther portrait

Esther Knight

Stood in the 2024 local election

Lincoln City Council
Minster Ward

She received 84 votes, coming just 1 vote behind the Liberal Democrat candidate and just 5 votes behind the Green Party candidate, taking just over 5% of all votes!

 

Introduction

 

Hello I'm Esther Knight representing Party Of Women as your candidate for Minster Ward, Lincoln City Council. I moved to Lincoln in 2010, it's a beautiful city with unique features and opportunities. I live and volunteer here in Minster Ward especially bringing community music-making into the city, care homes, schools, support groups and the surrounding villages. 

 

I'm keen to ensure that we all get to enjoy everything this part of the city has to offer and that council decisions take into account the real needs of residents (not just performative on-trend gestures) and that nothing compromises the existing rights or safety of women and girls. 

 

If elected I promise to speak up wherever I can and focus particularly on local matters which affect us; for example, retaining female-only public changing and toilet facilities, ensuring female-only care wherever requested by elderly, disabled and other vulnerable residents and better lighting & crime-preventative measures around public areas such as community centres, bus shelters, car parks and walkways. Small things can make such a difference to an area. 

 

It would be an honour to serve and represent my neighbours in Minster Ward on the city council.

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It was a rollercoaster. You'll need to be energetic & resilient and have support around you as your home turns into local campaign HQ. You'll be juggling phone calls every day, leaflet deliveries & volunteer schedules, and walking for miles around your ward.

 

I kept telling myself / friends / loved ones that this frenzy is only until the election! Mandy was a dynamo - a source of knowledge & support for all the candidates and I'm so grateful for all the camaraderie as we worked through the days in the run up to the election.

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The public support in the streets and on the doorstep was overwhelming; lots of "Good on you!", "Thanks for standing!", "I'm a secret TERF too!"

only one Mr. Beard huffing "bigotry!" at us and a couple of women saying "No! I don't want that!!" to the leaflet. No specific points and no engagement with the statements of course just shutters-down.

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Any online TRA drama is water off a duck's back to me & remember; normal decent people are seeing the TRA bullies' words too & it works in our favour. Stay firm but polite & think statesmanlike at all times. Don't play chess with pigeons! Grey rock the TRA trolls. She who controls her own emotions controls the dialogue.

 

Count night was an experience I'll never forget, the behaviour of many candidates & their entourages cheering for themselves (!) including one wearing a trans flag as a sash / sarong. What a night!

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Fascination as I saw my small pile of POW votes grow & they had to send a helper to get more counter clips. In the end with 84 votes I was but a whisker behind the Lib Dems 85 & Greens 89.

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The night before polling day person(s) unknown festooned my home garden & front wall in "trans pride" flags. There's no pride in such a gesture. What were they hoping to achieve? Anonymous coward(s).

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The police took an interest - this cannot be waved away as just a daft prank; attempting to intimidate a standing candidate during a live election is interference in the democratic process. We'll see how things develop.

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In future... There's so much red tape & hoops to jump through but I'm learning all the time and my experience can be put to good use if I can be someone else's "Mandy" next time.

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Campaign experience

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