Women, the Vote and Labour 1906-1918
Before the 1906 election and the formation of the Labour Party, women looked to the Liberal Party as the political party most likely to bring about the enfranchisement of women. Although women were unable to vote, the Corrupt Practices Act of 1883 enabled them to play an active part in politics as party workers. The Act, which legislated against the use of paid agents to undertake canvassing or other party work, increased demand for female volunteers. To encourage this both the Conservatives and Liberals formed women’s auxiliary organisations. In 1883 the Conservatives set up the Primrose League, and in 1887 the Liberals established the Women’s Liberal Federation.
‘Votes for Women’ Postcard
The Labour Representation Committee, which became later the Labour Party, was established to fight for workplace and trade union rights. Despite inconsistencies between the various wings of the party, Labour’s stance on votes for women was generally supportive. In 1906 twenty six Labour candidates were elected which led to the formation of the Parliamentary Labour Party [PLP]. At its first meeting, women’s suffrage was identified as one of the priorities that Labour MPs would pursue. The Independent Labour Party [ILP], a constituent part of the larger party from which a number of the PLP were drawn, was particularly sympathetic to the cause.
1906 Parliamentary Labour Party Minutes
1906 also saw the formation of the Women’s Labour League and its first conference in Leicester. The Women’s Labour League was an influential political pressure group, committed to the formation of an organisation of women to work for independent labour representation in connection with the Labour Party, and to obtain direct labour representation of women in Parliament and on all local bodies.’ Its desire to work with the Labour Party was clearly outlined in the League’s membership criteria and organisational methods.
Photograph of a Women’s Labour League Meeting
Women's Labour League Annual Report 1907/8
In 1911 the Labour Party refused to support the minority Liberal government’s franchise reform bill unless it included a women’s suffrage clause. By stimulating work with other women’s organisations, in particular the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). This gesture led many Liberal supporting women to see Labour as the party most likely to deliver women’s suffrage. This closer co-operation encouraged the NUWSS, a previously non-party organisation, to set up a fund to support Labour candidates in by-elections where there was no pro-suffrage candidate.
NUWSS Resolution establishing an election fund
This position on suffrage was further reinforced at the 1913 Labour Party Conference which committed the PLP to only supporting an ‘adult’ suffrage bill, as opposed to one that proposed only an extension of the male franchise. The NUWSS sent a telegram to the conference congratulating them on their decision.
Telegram from
NUWSS to the Labour Party Conference
