A celebration of Inspirational Women has been held at Number 10 Downing Street.
Aphra Brandreth was joined by other female candidates from across the country who are standing in the general election. The event was hosted by Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Laura Trott MP. Conservative Party Deputy Chair Rachel Maclean – who’s role is to encourage more women to stand for public office – was also amongst the guests.
Each of the candidates was invited to bring along a local woman who they considered to be inspirational.
Aphra chose Deborah Dixon, she said: "Debbie's son, Aaron, died tragically of an undetected genetic heart defect when he was just 23 years old. Since then she has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to put on screening events with the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) to detect undiagnosed cardiac abnormalities in young people aged 14 to 35. Debbie is an inspiration, and it is amazing that she has set up this fund in Aaron's memory."
Nomination of the inspirational women followed this year’s celebration of International Women’s Day.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Laura Trott MBE MP said:
“It was wonderful to meet so many brilliant and inspiring women from across the country at Downing Street this week. Deborah Dixon is a real champion in Chester South & Eddisbury, and it was a real pleasure and honour to celebrate their vital work alongside Aphra Brandreth.”
“We have incredible women standing for parliament across the UK. That in itself is inspiration to others who might be thinking of a future in politics. These women are all very different, with different skills, stories and experiences but uniting them all is a desire to stand up for their communities and Conservative values. It was a fantastic event and wonderful to meet so many inspirational women who they bought with them as their guests,” commented Rachel McClean MP.