The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Barbara Castle (1910-2002), Labour’s Red Queen, is remembered for her staunch commitment to gender equality, her achievements in three large Departments of State—Transport; Employment and Productivity; … Continue reading Barbara Castle
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Agnes Hardie and Jennie Adamson were Scottish working-class women who fought poverty, campaigned for women and advocated peace. They became Labour MPs in middle age, with … Continue reading Agnes Hardie and Jennie Adamson
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Frances Marjorie Graves’s paternal grandfather Samuel Robert Graves was a Conservative MP for Liverpool while Joan Davidson’s paternal grandfather Sebastian Dickinson was a Liberal MP for … Continue reading Marjorie Graves and Joan Davidson
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Dame Irene Ward (1895-1980) and Dr Edith Summerskill (1901-1980) were two of their parties’ longest-serving MPs. Both fought for equal pay and equality for women in … Continue reading Irene Ward and Edith Summerskill
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Mary Pickford (1884-1934) and Norah Runge (1884-1978) were two of the 15 women MPs elected in 1931, and both served for just one Parliament. Both were active … Continue reading Mary Pickford and Norah Runge
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Conservative MPs Mavis Tate (1893-1947) and Thelma Cazalet-Kier (1899-1989) played a key role in shifting the issue of equal pay up the political agenda. They both … Continue reading Mavis Tate and Thelma Cazalet-Kier
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Ida Copeland and Sarah Ward both benefited from the swing to the Conservatives at the 1931 general election, becoming Members for what had been safe Labour … Continue reading Ida Copeland and Sarah Ward
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Beatrice Wright (1910—2003) and Violet Bathurst, Lady Apsley (1895—1966) were Conservative MPs elected in by-elections during the second world war after their husbands’ death. Wright was … Continue reading Beatrice Wright and Violet Bathurst, Lady Apsley
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Florence Horsbrugh (1889-1969) and Helen Shaw (1879-1964) were Scottish Conservative MPs elected in 1931. Prior to entering Parliament, both had received MBEs for their efforts during the First World War. In Parliament, however, their paths diverged, as Horsbrugh took up posts in Government while Shaw continued to be inspired by local issues. Florence Horsbrugh Horsbrugh achieved several notable firsts, including becoming the first Conservative MP for Dundee since the 1830s. She represented the constituency from 1931 to 1945 before becoming the MP for Manchester Moss Side … Continue reading Florence Horsbrugh and Helen Shaw
The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. By 1931, women had sat in the Commons for more than a decade but, as Edith Summerskill MP (1901-80) recalled in her autobiography, “Parliament, with its … Continue reading Women MPs, 1931-1945
