The next in our series on women MPs by the House of Commons Hansard Writing Team. Labour’s Maureen Colquhoun (1928-2021) and Joan Maynard (1921-1998) were both elected in 1974’s general elections. They were campaigning MPs with strong commitments to their … Continue reading Maureen Colquhoun and Joan Maynard
We were very sorry to hear of the death last week of Shirley Williams. In honour of her passing we are pleased to publish this guest post on her life in Parliament by Oonagh Gay. Shirley Williams was first elected … Continue reading Shirley Williams and Parliament
A guest post from UK Vote 100 volunteer Oonagh Gay to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the election of Nancy Astor. This November we are celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the election of Nancy Astor as the first woman … Continue reading Bessie Le Cras – counting agent for Nancy Astor
We are delighted to present this guest blog on Selina Cooper, a working class suffragist from Lancashire, who became an influential speaker and organiser for the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies in the years before the First World War. … Continue reading Selina Cooper: The Story of a Working Class Suffragist
The centenary of the 1918 general election in December 2018 was marked by some new research into the seventeen women candidates. Our very own Vote 100 volunteer Robin Fell looked into some of the contemporary press coverage for this guest … Continue reading Making a stand: Women candidates at the 1918 General Election
Our first post of 2019 is a guest post by Oonagh Gay, UK Vote 100 volunteer Inspirational women of Wales A couple of years ago a task force called Monumental Welsh Women came together, and in May 2018 assisted the Welsh Women’s Equality Network to draw up a list of 100 historical Welsh women who epitomised and illustrated the achievements, talents and successes of Welsh women over the years. They announced a campaign to establish a new statue of an inspirational Welsh woman, sponsored by the Welsh Government. The campaign highlighted the lack of available images in Wales of women … Continue reading Women and Wales: Achieving Political Power
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
Guest post by Professor Barbara Goff What can students of ancient Greece and Rome do to mark the centenary of some British women obtaining the vote? Surely ancient history had nothing to do with the struggles for suffrage? In fact, as an exhibition in the Classics Department of the University of Reading currently shows, the movement for women’s suffrage looked to ancient history for examples, inspiration, and even humour. The suffrage magazines Votes for Women and Common Cause regularly featured articles, creative writing, and cartoons that drew on the literature and history of ancient Greece and Rome. Suffrage agitators included … Continue reading Ancient Suffragettes?
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
UK Vote 100: Looking forward to the centenary of Equal Franchise in 2028 in the UK Parliament 