Women Suffargette's

• Progress in medicine, education and law
• Could sit in leactures but not graduate
• Could sit on school boards and be Poor Law Guardians
• Ratepayers could vote in local elections
• 1902 Education Act said there should be one women on county council education committee
• 1905 Unemployment Act said one woman on the local distress committee
• DID NOT HAVE THE VOTE!

Suffragists

• made of variouse groups , came together in National Union of Womes Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)
• 50,000 members by 1913. Lead by Millicent Fawcett
• PEACEFUL MEANS

Suffragetts

• Formed in 1903 by mrs Emmeline Pankhurst had 2 daughters who were also suffrages Sylvia and Christabel - support from upper and middle class women, some working class
• Caught attention when Christabel & Annie Kennet (wc) were arrested fro heckling at an election
• Turned to violence frustrated by lack of progress - distrupted parliament debates, chained themselves to railings, set fire to post boxes and slashed pictures at the nation gallary. Refusal to pay fines meant prison - where they went on hunger strike (cat & mouse act) go home to eat
• Emily Davison threw herself under the kings horse in the Derby

• Conservatives - Many favoured giving women ratepayers the vote (as they would probably vote for conservatives). Some were strongly against it
• Liberals - Many supported, but the leaders were divided. Feared that giving women ratepayers the vote would benifit the conservatives
• Asquith was against it and Lloyd George was more supportive
• Labour - Suffragettes gained support of Trade Unions and made an electoral pact with Labour in 1912

Should women be given the vote on the same terms as men (ratepayers) or should all men and women get the vote

The Conciliation Bill (Liberal Government) - 1910 truce between women and politicians possible through the bill (giving over 1 million women the vote) 1911 bill got big majority no support of liberals, instead they brought in there ouw bill giving all men the vote and bringing in an amendment to give the vote to women too. Suffragettes outraged and became violent again resulting in Black Friday. Both bills did not continue

• WW1 made the suffragest call off the violence and supported the war effort and back government in recruitment of women to fill the jobs
• 1916 gov needed to make plans for a general election, if they used the existing register all the electors were away fighting - no one would vote as they were out of the country - resented
• Suffragists wrote many letters to the MPs

1918: Representation (right to vote) of the Peoples Act gave women over 30 the vote (ratepayers or wifes to rate payers) forming 42% electorate. All men over 21 given the vote - trebled the electorate