Suffragettes

The Great Reform Act of 1832 increased the UK electorate– the number of people that can vote– from about 366,000 to 650,000. This meant that the electorate now included around 18% of the adult male population. Little by little, the right to vote in British elections extended to more people. In 1867, the Parliamentary Reform Act increased the electorate to almost 2.5 million. This Act gave most skilled working class men in towns the vote. In 1872, the Ballot Act introduced secret ballots, so that voters would not feel under pressure to vote a certain way. However, half of the population were still not represented, as women did not have the vote. Some women wanted to change this.

It was Millicent Fawcett who formed a National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. This group lobbied politicians, demonstrated, and campaigned in order to get public support for their cause. This peaceful protest was all very well, but mother and daughter team Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst were impatient for change, and wanted to get the campaign noticed. They formed the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903, and used rather more dramatic techniques to get attention. They broke shop windows, set buildings on fire, and disrupted public meetings. When they were arrested, they stopped eating. This was called hunger strike. There was violence and there were arrests.

On June the 4th, 1913, Emily Davison was killed at the Epsom Derby when she threw herself in front of the King’s horse. In 1915, suffragette and lawyer Helena Normanton said that denying women the right to vote went against one of the most important clauses in Magna Carta– the clause which states that right and justice should be neither delayed nor denied. During the First World War, women stopped protesting and joined in the war effort. Finally, in 1918, women were allowed to vote in general elections, but only those over 30 who had property or a university-level qualification. Full equality did not come until 1928.