Ukip's Suzanne Evans: We Have Shied Away from Women's Issues and Policies

Ukip have "shied away" from looking at women's issues and policies, according to the deputy chairman of the Eurosceptic party.

Suzanne Evans, who is also Ukip's prospective parliamentary candidate for Shrewsbury and Atcham, told IBTimes UK that the party has made the move because "everybody should be treated equally".

"We have shied away from specifically looking at women's issues and women's policies because we have this fundamental principle that everybody should be treated equally," Evans said.

"It amazes me because we do have this actual focus on equality, but, because it's not the sort of politically correct tick-box type of equality, we seem to be penalised for it. It completely baffles me."

However, Evans said Ukip's proposal to lift those on the National Minimum Wage (of £6.50 an hour) out of income tax would benefit part-time working mothers.

The deputy chairman also said that Ukip do not plan to call for maternity leave to be scrapped and the party supports the current system of up to 52 weeks' leave for pregnant employees.

Evans claimed that the media has misrepresented the party's stance on the issue because Ukip have called for European Union (EU) "red tape" to be cut.

"When we talk about the burden of EU regulation in the workplace, what happens then is that people jump up and say we want to scrap maternity leave," Evans said.

"It's absolute rubbish – we've never said we want to scrap maternity leave.

"We're not going to have a bonfire of every single EU regulation because we recognise that some of them are eminently sensible.

"My understanding at the moment is that we have no plans to change the current system."

Evans also admitted that Godfrey Bloom's "s**t" comments were "very damaging" to the party.

But she argued that Ukip were quick to act on the incident after removing the whip from the former MEP in September 2013.

Evans' comments come after a poll from Survation for the Daily Mirror revealed that most men would vote for Ukip.

But the survey also revealed that female voters preferred Labour and the Conservatives over Nigel Farage's party.