How appropriate that a comedienne should help set up the Women’s Equality Party, which will field candidates for the first time in 2020. One obvious question at this stage:

Which of their many privileges will women be prepared to give up, in order to achieve gender equality?

If you don’t think women (as a class) are privileged compared with men (as a class), you need to read our election manifesto. We can be very sure Ms Toksvig’s new party won’t be seeking equality for women with men, in respect of:

– access to children following family breakdowns. It’s overwhelmingly fathers who are denied access to children following family breakdowns, because family courts fail to ensure them access.

– reproductive rights. Men have none, and are the common victims of paternity fraud.

– punishment for damaging embryos and foetuses with alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. Women can damage embryos and foetuses while knowing of risks, and face no consequences. Foetal alcohol syndrome is the #1 cause of avoidable mental incapacitation in the world.

– punishment for committing crimes. Six out of seven men in British prisons wouldn’t be there if men were treated with the same leniency as women.

– genital mutilation. Permitted only for males.

– education. Boys highly disadvantaged by an education system geared to girls.

– domestic violence victim support. Virtually none available for men.

– punishment for committing sexual abuse of men and children. The criminal justice system has virtually no interest in pursuing female abusers.

– homelessness. 87% of street homeless are men.

– suicide. Men are 3.5 times more likely as women to commit suicide. #1 cause of death of men under 50.

– work-related deaths. 95% of those who die from work-related accidents are men.

– divorce settlements. Men are robbed of their wealth they’ve worked hard for, often over decades.

– cancer screening programmes. £250 million pounds p.a. spent on national screening programmes for early detection of female-specific cancers. As many men die of prostate cancers as women die of breast cancer. No national screening programmes for any male-specific cancers.

– prospective parliamentary candidate shortlists. The only single-gender shortlists are for women – Gloria De Piero MP, Ashfield, was selected from one – although the prime reason a minority of MPs are women has long been known. Far more men than women seek political careers.