Catherine Mayer

Their words

for all the far right festoons lampposts and leaflets with the union flag, it harbours antipathy towards king and constitutional monarchy

Their words

PM and councillors are from different parties. Roll on electoral reform.

Their words

Blackshirts marching. Peaceful protestors beaten. Corruption scandals brushed aside. Vulnerable communities demonised. Eugenicists platformed. And we still quibble over whether to use the word fascism?

Their words

nearly three decades in which women in public life, including her daughters-in-law, continue to be remorselessly & recklessly chased, anatomised and cartoonified by the media

Their words

The common denominator wasn’t me but patriarchy. Rights and protections since won were never enough and are now under attack along with vulnerable communities who are being scapegoated

Their words

I have seen some public inquiries create the (expensive) illusion of making change while relieving the pressure for immediate action.

Their words

What happens to royal women is a template for and influence on what happens to all women in the public eye, and what happens to women in the public eye affects all women.

Their words

Brave New World is the oldest book and the first in this list I read, when I was at school.

Their words

We know this because the book I’ve chosen, Idoru, was written in 1997 and many of the things he describes have now happened.

Their words

Unlike my other choices, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin doesn’t deal with technology but Le Guin uses fiction to perform a thought experiment.