How far was the liberal government to blame for the continued failure of legislation for female suffrage between 1909 and 1913?

Question 1

What are the 3 political obstacles to the successes of measures to give women the vote introduced by the govt

Answer 1

1. Asquith’s personal oppositión to women’s suffrage
2. The 1910 constitutional crisis
3. Disagreements over what form female suffrage would take

Question 2

In additition to the 3 major political obstacles to the success of the WSPU’s campaign to enfranchise women, the WSPU’s increased use of violent militancy left many…

Answer 2

• pro-women’s suffrage MPs disillusioned and unwilling to support legislation (laws) which would grant them the vote

Question 3

1909 Women’s suffrage bill

How did this bill come about

Answer 3

A private members bill introduced by Liberal MP Geoffrey Howard

Question 4

1909 Women’s suffrage bill

Who would this have given suffrage to

Answer 4

• Male & Female suffrage based upon 3 month residential qualification

Question 5

1909 Women’s suffrage bill

How did the WSPU respond to this bill

Answer 5

• Both Christabel Pankhurst & Millicent Fawcett disliked the bill believing full adult suffrage was unpractical
• & that the bill represented the govt’s attempt to introduce a measure so radical that it could never pass
• Both WSPU and NUWSS possessed a pragmatic approach - conceived of only a limited extension of franchise

Question 6

1909 Women’s suffrage bill

What happened to the bill in parliament

Answer 6

• Carried by 35 votes on its second reading, yet failed to proceed after extensive debate wasted the time allocated to its passing

Question 7

1909 Women’s suffrage bill

Why did this bill fail - parties

Answer 7

Party deadlock between Cons and Libs

Question 8

1909 Women’s suffrage bill

Why did this bill fail - Asquith

Answer 8

• Asquith who did his best to undermine attempts at reform
• Asquith was often the target of suffragette action (assaults, heckling etc) yet this merely strengthened his resolve

Question 9

Why could the political parties not agree on the form female suffrage would take

Answer 9

• Conservatibes wanting property based franchise
• & Liberals wanting to extend suffrage criteria so that women and more w/c men would have the vote

Question 10

Why did the Prime Minister Asquith oppose women’s suffrage

Answer 10

• He believed that too much change too quickly would fundamentally damage political stability
• He was relluctant to allow militancy to dictate govt policy, fearing that agitation was not the same as political opinion
• Ultimately he was more concerned with issues of Ireland, social reform, industrial unrest and HofL crisis

Question 11

1910 First Concilliation Bill

How did this bill come about

Answer 11

• Despite losing a majority in the 1910 election, the Liberals returned to government, albeit without a majority
• Most MPs still wanted women’s suffrage
• Therefore, an all-party committee was set up of 54 MPs to address the question
• The committee drew up a bill, which was approved by both Conservative and Liberal representatives

Question 12

1910 First Concilliation Bill

Who would this have given suffrage to

Answer 12

• 1 million women
• householders & business occupants, with an income of £10 a year or more, would be allowed to vote
• Marriage would not be a disqualification, so unmarried women & widows, but a husband & wife could not both vote on the basis of the same property
• Women who could already vote in municipal elections would get the vote

Question 13

1910 First Concilliation Bill

How did the WSPU respond to this bill

Answer 13

• WSPU suspended militancy whilst HofC debated measure
• Christable denounced the bill, preferring extended female suffrage, but it passed its second reading nonetheless
• riot in parlianent square - 300 women arrested, 3 women died

Question 14

1910 First Concilliation Bill

What happened to the bill in parliament

Answer 14

• Though it was criticized in HofC for giving the vote to only 1million women, mostly widows and spinsters,
• it did however pass its second reading by 110 votes

Question 15

1910 First Concilliation Bill

Why did this bill fail

Answer 15

• 1910 Constitutional Crisis - Asquith prioritized govt business in the cabinet, taking women’s suffrage off the agenda, so further parliamentary time for the first CB was refused

Question 16

1910 First Concilliation Bill

Suffragettes had expected…

Answer 16

• liberal support with the election close by but Asquith not willing to put party behind movement

Question 17

1911 Second Concilliation Bill

How did this bill come about

Answer 17

• A private member’s bill - so not officially supported by the govt

Question 18

1911 Second Concilliation Bill

Who would this have given suffrage to

Answer 18

• same as 1st bill

Question 19

1911 Second Concilliation Bill

How did the WSPU respond to this bill

Answer 19

• returned to militant tactics with increased violence

Question 20

1911 Second Concilliation Bill

What happened to the bill in parliament

Answer 20

• It passed in May 1911 by 255 votes (in favour) to 88 votes
• This was a staggering majority of 167 votes

Question 21

1911 Second Concilliation Bill

Why did this bill fail

Answer 21

• However Lloyd George announced his opposition fearing it would add thousands of Cons voters;
• the cabinet refused to give it more parliamentary time,
• but agreed that a week would be given to a similar measure in 1912, if it could again pass its second reading
• Asquith personally agreed to this

Question 22

1912 Third Concilliation Bill

How did this bill fail

Answer 22

• Cabinet refused bill more parliamentary time but agreed to give time to debate similar bill in 1912 if it could pass its second reading

Question 23

1912 Third Concilliation Bill

How did the WSPU respond to this bill

Answer 23

• NUWSS made alliance with labour
• WSPU resumed militant tactics even more aggressively

Question 24

1912 Third Concilliation Bill

What happened to the bill in parliament

Answer 24

• Defeated by 14 votes, disappointing to the WSPU as the last bill was passed with a healthy majority
• 42 MPs who previously voted for the bill voted against it
• 91 MPs who had voted for it, abstained
• 74 Irish MPs, changed their vote against it

Question 25

1912 Third Concilliation Bill

Why did this bill fail - Asquith

Answer 25

• Asquith persuaded 74 Irish Nationalist MPs to drop their support for the bill in order to secure legislation for Irish Home Rule, to which he did not keep his promise

Question 26

1912 Third Concilliation Bill

Why did this bill fail - Militancy

Answer 26

• Doubt created by the WSPU’s militant violence
• Violence suicidally turned opinion against the women’s cause - for many the vote was a responsibility not a right, & the WSPU’s tactics called into question the character of women
• While many Cons feared change would create disorder, Libs worried that giving in to militancy would encourage violence from Irish protestors

Question 27

1913 Government Franchise Bill

How did this bill come about

Answer 27

• Was supported by all 3 parties - Labour, Liberal & Tory MPs

Question 28

1913 Government Franchise Bill

Who would this have given suffrage to

Answer 28

• all working-class men
• & an amendment was proposed by Lloyd George to strike the word ‘male’ from the bill to include women, including those from the w/c

Question 29

1913 Government Franchise Bill

What happened to the bill in parliament

Answer 29

• While this found support from the HofC, the Speaker (James Lowther) shocked everyone by declaring that such an amendment would change the character of the bill and invalidate it
• Asquith was greatly pleased and refused to draft a replacement bill

Question 30

1913 Government Franchise Bill

How did the WSPU respond to this bill

Answer 30

• violent response to Asquith’s refusal to draft a replacement bill

Question 31

1913 Government Franchise Bill

Why did this bill fail

Answer 31

• Asquith was greatly pleased and refused to draft a replacement bill; more WSPU violence followed
• Asquith’s opposition, parliamentary procedure, and political deadlock over the form female suffrage should take were all important for the failure of the govt to give women the vote between 1909 and 1913

Question 32

What evidence is there that WSPU militancy contributed to the failure of legislation giving women the vote, from Lloyd George’s POV

Answer 32

• MF discussed legislation with LG, she was informed that recent militancy made legislation impossible
• Lloyd George grew increasingly displeased with the WSPU, believing that in Nov 1911 Christabel Pankhurst had lost all sense of proportion
• The intense wave of violence triggered by Asquith’s failure to grant time to the recently passed second Concilliation Bill persuaded Lloyd George that militancy was out of control

Question 33

What evidence is there that WSPU militancy contributed to the failure of legislation giving women the vote, from Asquith & other MP’s POV

Answer 33

• Window smashing and hunger strikes were regarded as a hysterical response to the bill’s failure
• In late 1910, the WSPU feared Asquith was delaying the vote, & Downing Street was attacked, accosting Asquith and smashing his car’s windows, many pro-suffrage MPs lost enthusiasm for the cause
• From late 1910 there was reduced support within parliament for women’s suffrage

Question 34

What evidence is there that WSPU militancy contributed to the failure of legislation giving women the vote, from anti-suffrage groups’ POV

Answer 34

• Furthermore the aggressive waves of violence between 1911 and 1913, played into the hands of anti-suffrage groups, who used such actions as evidence of women’ unsuitability for politics