LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: (left to right) Sandi Toksvig, Sophie Walker, Catherine Mayer at the Women's Equality Party policy launch on October 20, 2015 in London, England. The new political party announced its policies today before candidates stand in the spring elections. The party was founded in March 2015 by Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

The Women’s Equality Party, which was launched by QI host Sandi Toksvig, took fewer votes than the Monster Raving Loony Party in the 2017 election.

The party was set up in 2015 by comic and BBC broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and author Catherine Mayer.

The comedian quit her long-running role on Radio 4 in order′s The News Quiz in order to dedicate more time to the Women’s Equality Party.

The party defines itself as a “new collaborative force in British politics uniting people of all genders, diverse ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, beliefs and experiences”, aiming to ensure “women enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men so that all can flourish”.

The political party fielded seven candidates in this month’s snap election.

However, despite a high-profile campaign, the party – which had made a pitch to lesbian voters at Stonewall’s LGBT hustings – did not manage to retain a single deposit.

It received just 3,580 votes nationally out of the 32,196,918 cast – below the Official Monster Raving Loony Party on 3,890. It was also beaten by the Christian Peoples Alliance, Yorkshire Party, and British National Party.

The Women’s Equality Party has since spoken out in favour of electoral reform

The party garnered far more votes during 2016’s devolved London Assembly elections, which utilised a transferable vote system.

In the London election, the party attracted 3.5% of the vote (91,772).

Speaking after the election, Sophie Walker said: “Our relentlessly positive campaign showed what ordinary people can do to inspire new hope from politics.

“The Women’s Equality Party has shown beyond doubt that we can build the kind of campaign that gets out the progressive vote.

“As the UK heads towards a hung Parliament and the possibility of yet another election, the need for alliances and the collaborative politics WE embody is crystal clear.

“We look forward to building on our achievements and continuing to do politics differently for the benefit of all. Because equality is better for everyone.”

Explaining her reasons for launching the party previously, Toksvig said: “What politics needs is for us to do things in a different way. The wonderful thing about the party is, we don’t care what your political past is.

“We don’t care if you come from the left or from the right or the centre. The fact is, from now [November] until the end of this year, women in this country are working for free, that’s how big the gender pay gap is. We need to sort it out.”