Government attitudes to female suffrage and WSPU Flashcards
1
Q
Herbert Asquith
A
- liberal PM 1908-1916
- undermined legislative attempts to enfranchise women
- couldn’t comprehend why women would want to vote
2
Q
New government
A
- 1906 - Liberal landslide
- liberal government reacted to illegal activities by denying them democratic forms of protest
3
Q
Private members bill 1909
A
- Liberal MP introduced a private members bill for both male and female suffrage
- based on a 3 month residential qualification
- failed to proceed after extensive debate wasted time allocated to its passing
- liberals and conservatives disagreed on form of women’s suffrage
4
Q
Black Friday 1910
A
- 300 suffragettes marched to house of commons in protest at failure of first conciliation bill
- Winston Churchill brought in police from poorer end of east London
- police kicked them, twisted their breasts and punched their noses
5
Q
Concilliation committee
A
- consisted of 54 MPs
- find a path to concilliation without handing one party a huge electoral advantage
6
Q
The first concilliation bill
A
- proposed that women householders and business occupents with an income of £10 or more allowed to vote
- criticised for granting vote to only a million women
- Christabel Pankhurst denounced the bill
7
Q
Second concilliation bill
A
- passed 255 votes to 88
- Lloyd George opposed the bill - fearing it would created thousands of conservative voters
8
Q
The government franchise bill 1913
A
- new franchise bill introduced extending vote to working class men
- Lloyd George suggested striking the work ‘male’ from the bill
- speaker of the house claimed this would change the character of the bill and invalidate it
9
Q
Cat and Mouse act
A
- gave prison authorities power to release persistant hunger strikers
- WSPU manipulated this into a propaganda act
- ‘cat and mouse act’ displayed government as a bully
