Author: ukvote100

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When meeting a new woman MP was no longer a rarity for us staff! Recollections of the impact of the May 1997 election

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Guest post by Oonagh Gay On 1 May 1997 120 women MPs were elected; exactly double the number elected in 1992 and representing 18.2 per cent of all MPs, 71 of these MPs were new. For House of Commons Library staff, suddenly, it was no longer a rarity to meet a woman MP. Previously, it was possible to recognise each woman MP and name their constituency without much difficulty. Suddenly there was a host of younger, unfamiliar, female faces to process. 101 of those 120 women elected were Labour, reflecting the landslide majority achieved by their Party, and the positive … Continue reading When meeting a new woman MP was no longer a rarity for us staff! Recollections of the impact of the May 1997 election

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Votes for Women in India: the early female MPs and their lobbying for Indian suffrage

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Guest post by Sumita Mukherjee The 1918 Representation of the People Act, which enfranchised some British women over 30, had a broader impact beyond the British Isles. In commemorating the centenary of this Act, it will be important to acknowledge some of the broader geographical legacies of this suffrage victory. Many British suffragettes and suffragists had, for example, invoked India during their campaigns and turned their attention more directly towards India after 1918. Until India gained independence from Britain in 1947, matters of the Indian women’s franchise were decided in the House of Commons. There were two significant Acts of … Continue reading Votes for Women in India: the early female MPs and their lobbying for Indian suffrage

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Another record breaker! Margaret Beckett, longest-serving woman MP

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On 24 March 2017, Dame Margaret Beckett MP became the longest serving female MP, serving for 38 years and 128 days, in two separate periods. Margaret Beckett (or Margaret Jackson, as she then was) was first elected as the MP for Lincoln at the general election held on 10 October 1974. She lost her seat at the following election (3 May 1979) but returned to the House of Commons on 9 June 1983 as MP for Derby South.  She has continued to represent Derby South since then. On 24 March 2017 she overtook Gwyneth Dunwoody as the female MP with longest total … Continue reading Another record breaker! Margaret Beckett, longest-serving woman MP

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And everywhere she is in chains!

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Guest post by Robin Fell The Grille in the House of Commons Ladies’ Gallery, preventing as it did all but a distorted view of proceedings in The Chamber, had always been unpopular and during the ‘Suffragette Years’ was the focus of much anger. Two suffragettes became quite attached to it – but with chains rather than with affection! On 28 October 1908 several coordinated demonstrations took place, some men shouted slogans from the public gallery (women were not admitted to this gallery), several women demonstrated in St Stephen’s Hall, and up in their eyrie in the Ladies’ Gallery another group … Continue reading And everywhere she is in chains!

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‘The lady Liberal agent’

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‘The lady Liberal agent’: Bertha Fischer (1875-1920) and Ellen Pocock (1854-1943) Guest post by Kathryn Rix In July 1902 the ‘Ladies’ Column’ of the Dundee Evening Telegraph ran an article on ‘Novel professions for women’, featuring ‘The lady Liberal agent’, Bertha Bowness Fischer. She had recently passed the professional examination held by the Society of Certificated and Associated Liberal Agents (SCALA), becoming the first woman to qualify as a Fellow of that body. Given that women were excluded from the parliamentary franchise until 1918, and from the comparable profession of solicitor until after 1919, it is rather surprising to find … Continue reading ‘The lady Liberal agent’

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‘The Burning Question’

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One hundred years ago, votes for women gained support in Parliament thanks to Speaker James Lowther.  ‘I endeavoured to push off the burning question of women’s suffrage as long as I could.’ (Speaker Lowther, ‘A Speaker’s Commentaries’) Speaker James W Lowther was remembering a Conference on electoral reform which discussed and then recommended votes for women on 10-11 January 1917. January 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of this important but little-remembered Parliamentary body, which was crucial in the history of votes for women. Speaker Lowther had been contending with suffragette agitation in the Palace of Westminster over a number of … Continue reading ‘The Burning Question’

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Harriet Harman record breaker!

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From 16 December 2016 Harriet Harman QC MP will hold the record for the longest continuous service as a woman MP in the House of Commons. Harriet Harman was first elected at a by-election on 28 October 1982. She has been an MP for 34 years and 49 days. She was elected in Peckham in 1982, and since boundary changes in 1997 has been the MP for Camberwell and Peckham. Today she overtakes Gwyneth Dunwoody as the female MP with longest continuous service since women were first elected to the House of Commons in 1918. Gwyneth Dunwoody served continuously from 28 … Continue reading Harriet Harman record breaker!

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Embroideries made by Suffragettes in Prison, 1905-1914

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Guest post by Denise Jones Recently Lockdales the auctioneers in Suffolk, very kindly sent me an image of objects belonging to the suffragette Mary Aldham, which were sold at auction in September 2015. Included in the cache were a small sampler and bag, both embroidered in Holloway c. 1912. It is likely that the embroideries had been treasured as family possessions for over a hundred years. The find has given me fresh hope that other similar ‘cloths’ may have been saved in other family homes. Sadly, I have been unable to locate the Aldham embroideries and only have virtual images … Continue reading Embroideries made by Suffragettes in Prison, 1905-1914

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Jane Campbell: Parliamentary divorce pioneer — The History of Parliament

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On 23 June 1801, a woman called Jane Campbell divorced her husband Edward Addison by Act of Parliament, and became the first woman to obtain a Parliamentary divorce. Dr Mari Takayanagi, Senior Archivist at the Parliamentary Archives and joint Project Manager for Vote 100, discusses how this came about, the significance of the case, and investigates who […] via Jane Campbell: Parliamentary divorce pioneer — The History of Parliament Continue reading Jane Campbell: Parliamentary divorce pioneer — The History of Parliament

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Patricia Ford MP- first woman to sit for a Northern Ireland constituency

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The first woman to sit for a Scottish seat was Katherine, Duchess of Atholl, elected on 6 December 1923. The first for Wales was Lady Megan Lloyd George, elected on 30 May 1919. However, Northern Ireland had to wait until 15 April 1953 for a woman to hold a seat there, and this was Patricia Ford MP. Of course, the first woman MP, Constance Markievicz, was elected for a Dublin seat in December 1918, but that was outside the borders of Northern Ireland. Patricia Ford is not well known these days. She was elected unopposed for North Down, after her … Continue reading Patricia Ford MP- first woman to sit for a Northern Ireland constituency