HistoryPod Extra: Women secure the right to vote in the Representation of the People Act

Summary

The special edition of 'History Pot Extra' commemorates the centenary of the Representation of the People Act in the UK, marking the beginning of female suffrage on February 6, 1918. The Act granted voting rights to women over 30 who owned property, despite excluding many. It's debated whether women's wartime contributions or pre-war suffrage activism influenced this milestone. The Act was conservative, targeting older, property-owning women, and still maintained gender inequality in voting rights, with full suffrage equality only achieved in 1928.

Takeaways

• 🗝️ The Representation of the People Act in the UK was a significant milestone for female suffrage, granting voting rights to women over 30 who owned property.
• 🏆 The Act was passed by a large majority in the House of Commons, with 385 votes to 55, indicating broad support for the change.
• 🔥 The traditional view is that women's contributions during WWI earned them the right to vote, despite earlier militant actions by suffragettes that included arson and vandalism.
• 🇫🇷 A contrasting argument suggests that the difference in suffrage between the UK and France was due to the absence of a pre-war suffrage movement in France, rather than their war efforts.
• 💥 The militant actions of suffragettes before 1914 were seen as vital to winning the vote, despite the shock and instability they caused at the time.
• 🕊️ Post-WWI, there was a desire to avoid the violence and political upheaval seen in Russia, leading to a more moderate approach to women's suffrage in the 1918 Act.
• 👵 The Act was conservative in its provisions, limiting the vote to women over 30 and property owners, thus excluding many younger and middle-class women.
• 🏛️ The bill's passage in the House of Lords was facilitated by Lord Curzon's decision not to oppose it, leading to its Royal Assent on February 6, 1918.
• 📈 The Act significantly increased the electorate, adding 8.4 million women to the 21 million voters, although it did not achieve full gender equality.
• 🎉 Women's suffrage movements celebrated the 1918 Act as a monumental achievement, with Millicent Fawcett calling it the greatest moment of her life.
• 📚 Full voting equality for women was not achieved until 1928, a decade after the Representation of the People Act, when all gender-based voting disparities were removed.

Q & A

What significant event marked the centenary of the Representation of the People Act in the UK?

The centenary of the Representation of the People Act in the UK is marked by the event that took place on the 6th of February 1918, when the Act received Royal Assent, initiating female suffrage in Great Britain.

How did the Representation of the People Act impact the voting rights of women in 1918?

The Act granted women over the age of 30 who owned property the right to vote, thus beginning the era of female suffrage in Great Britain, although it excluded a large number of women.

What was the traditional explanation for Parliament's support of the Representation of the People Act in 1918?

The traditional explanation is that Parliament supported the bill as a reward for the vital work done by women during the First World War, such as working in munitions factories, driving buses, or working on farms.

How did the actions of the suffragettes prior to the First World War influence the suffrage movement?

The suffragettes' violent actions, which included arson, vandalism, and high-profile protests, are argued to have damaged the suffrage movement, contrasting with the work done by women during the war that persuaded Parliament to support women's suffrage.

Why did the counter-argument suggest that the work of women during the war was not the sole reason for the Act's passage?

The counter-argument points out that in France, where women did equally important war work, they did not win the right to vote due to the absence of a pre-war suffrage movement and the militancy of the suffragettes.

What was the British establishment's concern following the violence in Russia and the subsequent communist revolution?

The British establishment was concerned about avoiding similar violence and instability at home, which influenced their decision to pass a moderate female suffrage section in the 1918 Representation of the People Act.

How did the 1918 Representation of the People Act limit the voting rights of women?

The Act limited voting rights by only granting them to women over 30 who were property owners, thus excluding younger women and educated middle-class women who did not own property.

What was the political strategy behind limiting the voting rights to women over 30 and property owners?

The strategy was conservative, aiming to include women who were perceived as less likely to support radical politics due to their age and marital status, and excluding those who did not own property.

How did the passage of the bill through the House of Lords differ from its passage in the House of Commons?

The bill passed through the House of Lords by 134 votes to 71, after Lord Curzon, who opposed women's suffrage, made it clear that he would not oppose it, avoiding a clash with the Commons.

What was the immediate impact of the 1918 Representation of the People Act on the electorate?

The Act increased the electorate to about 21 million, of which 8.4 million were women, showing a significant expansion but also highlighting the inequality in voting rights between men and women.

How did the 1918 Act differ in granting voting rights to men compared to women?

The Act gave all men over the age of 21 the right to vote, and those who had been on active service in the Armed Forces could vote from 19, while women's voting rights were more restricted.

When did true suffrage equality between men and women come into effect in the UK?

True suffrage equality, where both men and women had equal voting rights, was achieved a decade later in 1928.