In February 1908, the ‘Pantechnicon Raid’ took place on the Houses of Parliament, when suffragettes were delivered to the front door in Pantechnicons, or furniture vans. To mark this 110 years on, we are pleased to publish this guest post … Continue reading Domestic Servant raids Parliament: The Case of Charlotte Griffiths – Suffragette and Working Woman
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
Here at Vote 100 we’re really looking forward to all the great new books on women’s suffrage which are coming out for the centenary. We were delighted last year to reveal the cover image and extracts from ‘Things a Bright … Continue reading Exclusive! Extracts from ‘Rise Up, Women!’ by Diane Atkinson
Guest post by Eleanor Rhode Leading workshops is always fun, but we were particularly excited to be invited to take part in Parliament’s UK Vote 100 project – which celebrates 100 years of the passing of the Representation of the … Continue reading ‘Maiden Speeches’ – Finding Your Voice
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 the Hansard Writing Team On 9 March 1954, four MPs put aside party political differences to present an 80,000-signature petition to Parliament demanding equal pay. Ulster Unionist Patricia Ford, Conservative Irene Ward and Labour MPs Edith Summerskill … Continue reading Women Demand Equal Pay!
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
Guest post by Robin Fell All Marion Wallace-Dunlop wanted to do was ‘Petition the King’; and who knows, if she had been allowed to, we might never have heard of hunger-striking suffragettes. But when she and several of her suffragette … Continue reading Marion Wallace-Dunlop: The First suffragette Hunger Striker
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
Guest post by Duncan Sutherland Background Prior to a debate on a motion to admit women to the House of Lords in 1930, the newly-created Lord Noel-Buxton was introduced. The introduction ceremony involved the new peer and his two supporters (current members of the House) wearing bicorn hats and scarlet robes trimmed with gold and miniver, processing behind Garter King of Arms and the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. He presented his Letters Patent (creating his peerage) and the Writ of Summons summoning him to parliament, which were read aloud. After taking the oath and signing the Roll, Lord … Continue reading Robes and Ritual: Preparations for Women’s Arrival in the House of Lords
UK Vote 100: Looking forward to the centenary of Equal Franchise in 2028 in the UK Parliament 