Tag: Lily Maxwell

19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Victorian Commons, Women and Parliament

Votes for women before and after 1832

Continuing our series on the practical workings of the UK’s historic voting system, Philip Salmon of our House of Commons, 1832-1868 project re-examines when and how some women could vote long before they secured equal electoral rights with men. Women’s participation in politics before 1918, when they acquired the parliamentary vote, is now well documented. After decades of neglect in older narratives, a wide range of … Continue reading Votes for women before and after 1832

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

More than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, cast a parliamentary vote. Dr Kathryn Rix explores her story. After decades of campaigning for ‘Votes for Women’, the 1918 Representation of the People Act gave the parliamentary vote to some (but not all) women. Yet more than fifty years earlier, on 26 November 1867, Lily Maxwell … Continue reading ‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

Kathryn RixLeave a comment