Vanessa Hudson

Vanessa Hudson

Leader, Animal Welfare Party UK

Leader of AWP since 2010, Vanessa believes that fighting the climate and biodiversity crises and ending speciesism are some of the most urgent and moral imperatives of our time.

A Producer in the media industry by profession, Vanessa was born in Sheffield, and grew up in Nottinghamshire. She studied at the University of Liverpool before moving to London by way of Hong Kong and Sydney.

Vanessa has followed a vegan diet for the past 29 years. In 2006, Vanessa was one of the founding members of Vegan Runners UK and later became the club’s Press Secretary.

Vanessa joined Animals Count / AWP in 2009, taking over the leadership from Jasmijn De Boo in 2010. Vanessa greatly enjoys working with other animal parties from around the world and takes huge encouragement from the growth of the international Animal Politics movement and the successes many parties within it are enjoying at local, national and EU Parliament level.

 

Saturday
3pm

Standing as a Candidate for Animal Welfare Party

Animal Welfare Party stands candidates in local and parliamentary elections in the UK. 2024 has seen us stand in elections for the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and in the General Election.

We believe it’s vitally important that animal and environmental issues are included in the political debate. With our first AWP councillor gained in 2017 in Alsager, Cheshire and our second this year in Hexham, Northumberland, we believe there is a growing appetite for policies and representation aimed at creating a fairer, more sustainable world for all.

This workshop is aimed at those who are interested in the idea of standing as a candidate for Animal Welfare Party in an upcoming election. It will look at how to express interest in being a candidate, what’s involved and what can be expected from the experience overall. We are always keen to hear from prospective candidates and all are very welcome.

Workshops 1 full timetable

Saturday
5pm

Moving Beyond the Welfare Paradigm

This panel takes a look at how we can move beyond the current welfare paradigm, established for over 200 years in the UK, and see fundamental rights for animals established, in the quest for ultimate animal liberation, whilst avoiding splits and unhealthy disagreements between different sections of the animal protection movement. Framing welfare reforms as Inside/Outside campaign strategy, alongside simple rights and fundamentals rights, the panel explores in some detail how our movement can achieve this vital shift for animals beyond the current welfare paradigm

 

Panels and Presentations full timetable