Holly Rothwell talks about the impact of our Peer Support Circles

Peer Circles made the process of standing for election tangible, realistic and…even possible. Before the programme, I believed that the election process was deliberately opaque and complex in order to exclude certain groups from standing. Afterwards, I had more insight and was equipped to begin the journey to standing.

Peer Circles also helped me tackle a professional barrier: I was hesitant to create a public profile as a woman in the digital age. We know that women in politics are subjected to online abuse, and in my case, this threat of abuse had won. It had put me off online political engagement and I’d been missing opportunities. Peer Circles showed me why and how I could create an online profile to take back my power and my narrative.

I particularly enjoyed the programme’s small peer-group structure. We worked in the same groups each week. Each group comprised members with political experience, members with none and a broad array of backgrounds and political standpoints.

First, we agreed to confidentiality and boundaries, so it was easy to develop rapport and trust. Experienced political representatives shared their honest reflections. Aspiring candidates were able to ask difficult questions and expect realistic answers. I imagine this type of space is rare in politics; and we made the most of it!

The approach our facilitator took to supporting us was another highlight. Eve is truly an intersectional feminist and she put diversity and inclusion at the heart of every session. Her positive, determined spirit infused the whole programme with joy.

If you’ve ever felt a wave of anger after listening to a news article about injustice, then Peer Circles is for you. Peer Circles helps you turn that anger, sadness or resignation into a positive, practical plan for political action. Instead of shouting at your laptop, mobile, or TV and sitting back down, Peer Circles encourages you, quite literally, to stand up for yourself.

After each meeting, I felt more and more that I already had the power within me to make a change. I didn’t need more education, more connections, a different gender. With the application of hard work and a strong support network, I too could gain a seat at the UK’s political decision-making tables.

Holly Rothwell is a recent graduate of the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute. Her research interest was the transformative power of sound in producing communities of solidarity with forced migrants. Prior to this, she led Oxfam’s Festival Shop, a pop-up shop of fabulous donated fashion that travels to the UK’s biggest music and fashion events.  

Holly is a passionate advocate for UK economic and social justice, for the human rights of forced migrants and the transformative power of the arts for social good. She is currently Policy Research Officer with the Leeds branch of the Women’s Equality Party.