Category: House of Commons

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Book Review: Things a Bright Girl Can Do

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Here at Vote 100 we were delighted to exclusively reveal the cover design for the new young adult suffrage novel ‘Things A Bright Girl Can Do’, and to meet the author Sally Nicholls, who wrote about her visit here in A Rebel’s History of Parliament.  We were then keen to find out what an actual young adult thought of it… Guest post by Annabel I am 16 years old, and recently read the book ‘Things a Bright Girl Can Do’ by Sally Nicholls. This book gave a very realistic portrayal of the struggles faced by women during the early 1900s and … Continue reading Book Review: Things a Bright Girl Can Do

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GONE GRILLE: The removal of the Ladies’ Gallery Grilles

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‘The heavy brass trellis which then screened off these galleries, and their bad ventilation, made them quite unnecessarily tiring and even exhausting,’ Millicent Fawcett, writing in 1924.[1] On 23 August 1917, to the joy of many women, the grilles were removed from the windows of the Ladies’ Gallery in the House of Commons. Women had to watch debates separately from men in those days. In the early 19th century they had done so peering down from a ventilator in the attic above the Commons chamber; after the 1834 fire destroyed the old Palace of Westminster, a Ladies’ Gallery was created … Continue reading GONE GRILLE: The removal of the Ladies’ Gallery Grilles

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Rebels and Friends, Constance Markievicz and Eva Gore-Booth

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Guest post by Jacqueline Mulhallen  Rebels and Friends – a play about Constance Markievicz and Eva Gore-Booth, written by Jacqueline Mulhallen, directed by William Alderson, and produced by Lynx Theatre and Poetry In 1918 Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the British Parliament.  Because she was a a member of Sinn Fein, she did not take her seat, and there is some doubt whether she would have been eligible, though that question was not raised at the time! Instead, she became Ireland’s first minister of Labour under the illegal Sinn Fein Parliament in Ireland and the only female Cabinet Minister at … Continue reading Rebels and Friends, Constance Markievicz and Eva Gore-Booth

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ALL CHANGE! Women and the 1945 General Election

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Guest post by Oonagh Gay The general election of July 1945 was the first held for a decade. The Second World War had led to the suspension of elections. So the results were awaited with more than common interest. The contest was held on 5 July, (with some constituencies delaying until 12 and 19 July) but the polls were not counted and declared until 3 weeks later on 26 July. This was to allow those serving abroad in the armed forces to have their votes included. The landslide victory of the Labour Party was unexpected, and had a profound impact … Continue reading ALL CHANGE! Women and the 1945 General Election

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‘Neither fair, nor desirable, nor wise’: the Representation of the People Bill

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A century ago, on 19 June 1917, the House of Commons voted in favour of votes for women during committee stage of the Representation of the People Bill.   Guest post with timeline by Grace Bell  Countless pieces of legislation have passed through the Houses of Parliament since its existence making it easy to overlook numerous Acts – even those which greatly altered society. The Vote 100 Project is aiming to ensure our memory of significant legislation relating to votes for women are not forgotten. This blog post highlights research plotting the passage of the Representation of the People Bill, … Continue reading ‘Neither fair, nor desirable, nor wise’: the Representation of the People Bill

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EXCLUSIVE! Cover launch of ‘Things A Bright Girl Can Do’ by Sally Nicholls

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Here at Vote 100 we were thrilled to hear that the acclaimed and award-winning author Sally Nicholls has written a new YA (young adult) novel about votes for women. Things A Bright Girl Can Do will be published in September 2017 and focuses on three young women, Evelyn, May and Nell, their experiences of taking part in the suffrage campaign and the impact of the First World War on their lives and families. We have all read the book, and are really delighted to see the depth and breadth of the research Nicholls has undertaken, research that gives readers a … Continue reading EXCLUSIVE! Cover launch of ‘Things A Bright Girl Can Do’ by Sally Nicholls

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Out of ‘site’, out of mind? The Hidden Ladies of the Ventilator

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Guest post by Amy Galvin-Elliott Historically, women have had a contentious relationship with the Houses of Parliament, and their access to and interaction with the spaces of Parliament provides an illuminating co-narrative to their journey towards enfranchisement. The Vote 100 project is a really exciting opportunity to recreate and try to imagine some of the spatial experiences of the women who, for example, observed Commons debates from the ventilator, were concealed behind the grille of the Ladies’ Cage, or who stormed Westminster Hall and St Stephen’s Hall to fight for their political rights. This post focuses on the early space … Continue reading Out of ‘site’, out of mind? The Hidden Ladies of the Ventilator

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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