Empowering Equality: The Representation of the People Act (1918) and Women's History Month

1. The Representation of the People Act (1918) Centenary and Women’s History Month Stuart Tiffany

2. We are going to explore the 1918 Act in this hall. • Who can vote in our general election? • How many votes do those people get? • Who thinks this is fair? • Discuss with a partner

3. Pre-1918, some of these people couldn’t vote. Who and why?

4. The Journey to Universal Suffrage – Equal Votes for Everyone • The first national movement for women’s suffrage began in 1872 when the National Society for Women’s Suffrage was formed. • There were two main groups known as the suffragists and suffragettes who tried to achieve votes for women in two very different ways.

5. The Suffragists • The National Society joined other societies and formed the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies in 1897. • Their aim was to be granted the vote using peaceful and legal means such as holding meetings. • They were known as the suffragists and were led by Millicent Fawcett.

6. The Suffragettes • These campaigners were more militant than the suffragists. This means they would break the law to try and achieve their aim. • Many Suffragettes came from the Women’s Social and Political Union which was set up in 1903, They were led by Emmeline Pankhurst. • They damaged buildings and lots were jailed. Some even died for their cause.

7. Discussion – Which group would you have supported? • Discuss with your partner, who would you have supported? The Suffragists or the Suffragettes • Can you explain your thinking clearly?

8. The First World War 1914 - 1918 • When the war began, the suffrage movement largely stopped and the members supported the war effort. • They worked many of the jobs men had been doing before the war. It showed women could do the jobs that men had previously done.

9. The Representation of the People Act (1918) • This was an important step towards voting equality. • It gave men over 21 the vote and women, who were over 30 and owned property the vote. • This was not equal … yet! • That came in 1928 when finally women were given the same voting rights as men.

10. Legacy – What does this look like in 2018? • We have now had 2 female Prime Ministers. • There are more female MPs after the last election than ever before, but women still do not represent half of the MPs in the House of Commons. In 1918, there was only one woman sitting in the House of Commons and now there are 208. • Equality is an important British value and it’s important to remember how far we have come and how far we still have to go!