There will be a new party fighting for votes in Worcester this may.

The Women’s Equality Party (WEP), co-founded by TV presenter Sandi Toksvig will be fielding its first candidate in elections for Worcester City Council.

Leisa Taylor will be standing in the city’s Bedwardine ward and she says she wants to “do politics differently”.

Ms Taylor said: “There’s never been a better time for change in local politics. If I’m elected I will put women and girls at the centre of the Council’s decision making. At the moment less than a quarter of our city councillors are women.

“That’s not good for Worcester – the Council is not making the decisions that benefit all our communities at the moment and I want to change that.

“It’s clear that politics is broken at a local and national level and I want to work with good local politicians from all our political parties to make change for the better.”

Ms Taylor is the leader of the WEP’s local branch and has lived and worked in Worcester for 25 years, running the youth centre in St John’s and working with young people from Dines Green, Lower Wick and St John’s.

She added: “We’re looking forward to having some interesting conversations on the doorsteps ahead of the elections. By focusing on fairness, equal access to services and balanced representation on the Council I’ll work to make sure every resident in the ward gets the treatment they deserve.”

The Worcestershire branch of the Women’s Equality Party has nearly 350 members and supporters across Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

Bedwardine currently has three sitting councillors, all Conservatives. Councillor Bill Amos’ term of office expires this year.

Twelve seats will be up for grabs in the elections on Thursday May 3. The city council is currently on a political knife-edge, with 17 Conservatives, 16 Labour councillors and two Greens.