The political party you've never heard of that is on the verge of making history

The Women’s Equality Party has grown to 45,000 members in six months

Leader Sophie Walker says this is an "exciting time" for the party

One of the country's fastest growing parties is on the verge of making UK political history.

The Women’s Equality (WE) Party launched just nine months ago and already has more than 45,000 members and supporters.

Now the party, which is the brainchild of the former TIME editor Catherine Mayer and the comedian Sandi Toksvig, wants to stand candidates in next year's regional elections after raising £31,500 in less than a week during November.

It will be the first time in the UK’s history that a person affiliated with a political party purely focused on women’s equality will stand as an elected representative within local government.

Sophie Walker, the leader of WE, told The Independent that the party is now looking for male and female candidates.

“WE are seeking people of all genders to represent us, and want to field candidates who would not normally engage in politics, either because of the time and cost implications, or because they have felt disengaged from what the other parties are saying,” she said.

WE will offer training and support to candidates, as well as childcare. Further details on how to get involved are here.

Sandi Toksvig's "alternative Christmas speech"

Mrs Walker said she is confident that WE will make history when the elections come round in May.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for the party,” she said.

WE is a single-issue party and will not hold house views on issues like immigration and healthcare unless it specifically impacts women’s equality. WE policies were announced in October and can be read in this document.

Single-issue parties have grown fast before. Immigration-centric party UKIP won over three million votes in the last UK election. The London mayoral race, the London and Welsh Assembly elections and the Scottish parliament elections are next May