“Politics is about passion. I first got involved because I was interested in local community issues in my town, and I made the connection between those issues and what a local political party was campaigning on. Ask yourself: what do I care about? What is the change I want to see in the world, and how will being involved in politics make that happen?

Don’t start by going to local party meetings; they’re often the worst advert for getting involved. Oscar Wilde said “the problem with socialism is it takes up too many evenings”, and he was right! Start with a campaign, and ask to meet with a local activist, councillor or MP to have a chat about it. Also, check out leadership workshops and women’s support groups within political parties. In Labour, there are amazing organisations like the Labour Women’s Network or the Fabian Women’s Network, and I also run a non-partisan women’s leadership workshop called the Circular Firing Up Squad. There are lots of people who want to help women get into politics, because we know what a difference it makes.

Most importantly, don’t sit on the sidelines. The world right now needs to change, and the only way it will change is if we get stuck in. Some people – they tend to be mainly men – will tell you that politics has to be done a certain way, but it doesn’t. Politics is what we make of it.”

Stylist’s Visible Women campaign aims to raise the profiles of women in politics – and inspire future generations to follow their lead. See more Visible Women stories here.

Women MPs share their advice for getting started in political activism