Guest post by Helen Langley One of the many highlights of the ‘Voice and Vote’ exhibition was the recreation of the Ladies Gallery (also known as “The Cage”) and the view down into the House of Commons chamber. After the … Continue reading Honor Balfour, Westminster and a Woman’s voice
By Oonagh Gay and Isobel White. Follows Norah Runge MP: An exceptional woman and Norah Runge: Becoming an MP, 1931-1932 Throughout a period of rising political tensions both at home and abroad, Norah is present at key debates in the Commons and … Continue reading Norah Runge: Rotherhithe, national politics and family crises, 1933 -1935
By Oonagh Gay and Isobel White. Follows Norah Runge MP: An exceptional woman Norah Runge became the Conservative MP for Rotherhithe rather unexpectedly in 1931 after the male candidate, Captain Husey, stood down. Norah kept a diary, not just of her … Continue reading Norah Runge: Becoming an MP, 1931-1932
Today is the birthday of Norah Runge (27 September 1884 – 6 June 1978), an unsung interwar woman MP. To mark the occasion we are delighted to publish this guest post by Vote 100 volunteers Oonagh Gay and Isobel White. Who … Continue reading Norah Runge MP: An exceptional woman
Guest post by Dr Julie V. Gottlieb (University of Sheffield) It is truly remarkable how so many organisations, institutions, media outlets and individuals have been coming together to mark the centenary of (partial) women’s suffrage. This promises to be a … Continue reading ‘Shy Women Tories’ in the History of Suffrage and Beyond
Guest post by Robin Fell In February 1918, The Pall Mall Gazette prominently displayed an item under the headline, LADIES AND THE LOBBY – OLD CONDITIONS TO BE RESTORED. This tells us that, ‘The Speaker announced that he had given instruction that in future ladies, accompanied by members, would be admitted to the Central Lobby, from which they were excluded owing to exceptional circumstances.’ Central Lobby is at the heart of Parliament, midway between the House of Commons and House of Lords: a meeting place for Parliamentarians, and a place for MPs to meet their constituents. So, when and how were … Continue reading Ladies Allowed! How women were banned from Central Lobby, and re-admitted 100 years ago
Guest post by Krista Cowman As part of our AHRC project ‘What Difference did the War Make’, we’re holding an event at the University of Lincoln to look at what women have to do in order to be selected as … Continue reading Getting selected – a landmark for women’s rights
Guest post by Chloe Bowerbank During my work as an intern for the Citizens project, working with the Vote 100 team in Parliament, I was leafing through the police records kept by Parliament from the time of militant suffragette action. … Continue reading ‘How Long Will It Go On?’ – Sylvia Pankhurst and the Hunger Strike
Vote 100 was thrilled recently to exclusively reveal the cover design for Sally Nicholls upcoming book about young suffrage campaigners, Things a Bright Girl Can Do. She then came to see us in Parliament, and we were even more excited to … Continue reading A Rebel’s History of Parliament
‘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
UK Vote 100: Looking forward to the centenary of Equal Franchise in 2028 in the UK Parliament 