Tag: Women’s suffrage

Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Legislative History, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘The only really important public service I performed’: John Stuart Mill’s women’s suffrage amendment, 20 May 1867

Having looked at John Stuart Mill’s role in presenting the first mass petition for women’s suffrage, our colleague Dr Kathryn Rix explores his continued efforts for the cause of ‘votes for women’, bringing forward an amendment on women’s suffrage as part of the debates on the 1867 Reform Act. John Stuart Mill (1806-73) is best known as a philosopher and influential political thinker, but he … Continue reading ‘The only really important public service I performed’: John Stuart Mill’s women’s suffrage amendment, 20 May 1867

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

‘The first humble beginnings of an agitation’: the women’s suffrage petition of 7 June 1866

The campaign to secure the parliamentary vote for women was a long-running one. Dr Kathryn Rix, assistant editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1868 project, looks at the first mass petition on this issue. On 7 June 1866 the first mass petition for women’s suffrage was presented to Parliament. Signed by around 1,500 women, it was presented to the Commons by John Stuart Mill, who … Continue reading ‘The first humble beginnings of an agitation’: the women’s suffrage petition of 7 June 1866

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Contemporary History, 20th century history, Modern, Social history, Women and Parliament

Women, Petitions and Parliament in the Twentieth Century

To mark Women’s History Month 2023, guest blogger Henry Miller, Associate Professor (Research) at Durham University, explores how women continued to utilise petitioning as a medium for political activity even after they won the vote. There is a long tradition of women appealing to Parliament through petitions dating back to at least the late medieval period. In the nineteenth century, petitions to the House of … Continue reading Women, Petitions and Parliament in the Twentieth Century

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20th century history, 19th Century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Modern, Women and Parliament

Lady Frances Balfour:  A Woman in Parliament before Enfranchisement

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Professor Susan Pedersen of Columbia University. On 24 May 2022, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Susan will be presenting a paper on Lady Frances Balfour and responding to questions. Details of how to sign up for the Zoom seminar are available here. When we tell the dramatic story of women’s long campaign … Continue reading Lady Frances Balfour:  A Woman in Parliament before Enfranchisement

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Conferences, Seminars and Events, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Modern, Social history, Victorian, Women and Parliament

Schoolgirls’ visits to the Houses of Parliament, 1880-1918

Ahead of Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Helen Sunderland, a PhD candidate at Corpus Christi, Cambridge. She will be responding to your questions about her research on Twitter between 2pm and 3pm on 28 April 2020. The virtual seminar will be hosted by the History of Parliament Twitter account @histparl. To submit questions for Helen please contact @histparl on Twitter … Continue reading Schoolgirls’ visits to the Houses of Parliament, 1880-1918

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

Women and the municipal franchise

Continuing our series on ‘Women and Parliament’, Dr. Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of the House of Commons, 1832-1945 project, looks at a landmark reform to the municipal franchise in 1869. Today – 2nd August – marks 150 years since the 1869 Municipal Franchise Act received royal assent. This measure widened the municipal franchise for the town councils created in 1835 by reducing the amount of … Continue reading Women and the municipal franchise

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Modern, 20th century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Elections, Electoral Reform, Women and Parliament

Electoral Firsts in the 1918 Election: Event Review

Today we hear from our undergraduate intern from the History department at Goldsmiths College, University of London, Matthew Anderson. For those of you who were unable to attend our recent event in Parliament, below he outlines our three papers… On Wednesday 16th January, amidst a significant week for Brexit and the government, the History of Parliament Trust and the Co-operative party hosted an event in … Continue reading Electoral Firsts in the 1918 Election: Event Review

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History of Parliament Trust, 16th Century history, 17th Century history, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Women and Parliament

Review of the Year 2018

What a year it’s been! After all of the staff changes at the end of 2017 we started the new year with a new Director, Stephen Roberts, Assistant Director, Emma Peplow, and Public Engagement Officer, Sammy Sturgess, who, in addition to our continued research, were ready to forge ahead with a bumper public engagement programme involving our academic projects and beyond. 2019 will see the … Continue reading Review of the Year 2018

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Modern, 20th century history, Electoral Reform, Parliamentary Life, Women and Parliament

A night in Parliament: Militant Suffragettes and Parliament

We are delighted to post this guest blog in our Women and Parliament series from one of the public historians who has been at the forefront of activities to commemorate the centenary of the first women winning the right to vote in this country. Vicky Iglikowski-Broad, Diverse Histories Records Specialist at The National Archives (TNA) gives us an account, based on the collections at TNA, … Continue reading A night in Parliament: Militant Suffragettes and Parliament

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Modern, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Elections, Local History, Parties, Social history, Victorian, Women and Parliament

Before the vote was won: women and politics, 1868-1918

Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of the House of Commons 1832-1868 Section explains the relationship between women, Parliament and politics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly focusing on their expanded role within local government in the prelude to the Representation of the People Act 1918. This post is based in part on Kathryn’s contribution to the book accompanying the ‘Voice and Vote’ exhibition currently … Continue reading Before the vote was won: women and politics, 1868-1918

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