WSPU - The Failed Parliamentary Attempts to Achieve Female Suffrage 1909-13

Question 1

Women’s Suffrage Bill 1909 - What happened?

Answer 1

• Libs proposed a bill in 1907 for women’s suffrage which was to give some women and all men the vote
• They re-proposed the bill in 1908 and 1909 – both times the bill passed the second reading but failed to get any further

Question 2

Women’s Suffrage Bill 1909 - Why did it fail?

Answer 2

• Bills must be passed and become acts within the allowed time for debate – this bill was not given enough debate time
• Partly because other considerations took precedent – in 1909, there was substantial debate over the People’s Budget, a Liberal effort to fund social welfare programs with increased taxes on high incomes
• The announcement of the first of two general elections in 1910 meant that the parties focused on their own election campaigns

Question 3

The Conciliation Committee and Bill 1910 - What happened?

Answer 3

• The NUWSS and WSPU joined forces to form a cross-party committee aiming to achieve limited suffrage for just 1 million women
• Emmeline Pankhurst called a halt on militant activities
• A Conciliation Bill was drafted with 300 MPs promising support and a petition of 250,000 names was presented in support

Question 4

The Conciliation Committee and Bill 1910 - Why did it fail?

Answer 4

• Asquith did not support the bill – the suffragettes had expected liberal support with the election at hand and growing popular support for female suffrage, but Asquith was not willing to put his party behind the movement
• Even though the bill passed the second reading by 100 votes, Asquith declared that there was not time to continue debating and it did not become an act

Question 5

The Conciliation Bill 1911 - What happened?

Answer 5

In 1911, the bill was again proposed, this time as a PMB – it was promised a week of parliamentary discussion by Asquith and passed its reading by 255 votes to 208

Question 6

The Conciliation Bill 1911 - Why did it fail?

Answer 6

• Asquith declared in Nov 1911 that he would propose a universal male suffrage law with the possibility of adding female suffrage to the bill
• For many liberals, the promise of male suffrage removed the need to support the conciliation bill
• The WSPU returned to their militant tactics with increased violence
• The bill was abandoned

Question 7

The Conciliation Bill 1912 - What happened?

Answer 7

The bill was proposed a third time in 1912 – it was voted down by 222 votes to 208

Question 8

The Conciliation Bill 1912 - Why did it fail?

Answer 8

• The issue of Irish Home Rule had become more serious, and the Irish Parliamentary Party voted against female suffrage based upon the fear that time spent debating this bill would be used to avoid debating Irish Home Rule
• Increased WSPU militancy had alienated the gov and 26 MPs who promised to support the bill voted against the bill in 1912 – 66 MPs who abstained in 1911 voted against the 1912 bill
• Asquith reportedly said to a friend ‘I think we are now nearly out of the woods’ – the WSPU were furious that just eight more votes would have passed the bill

Question 9

The gov franchise bill 1913 - What happened?

Answer 9

• In 1912, a bill for increased male suffrage was proposed for parliamentary debate in 1913
• Asquith suggested that campaigners might be able to debate an amendment which would tag limited female suffrage onto the bill

Question 10

The gov franchise bill 1913 - Why did it fail?

Answer 10

• This bill was never a serious possibility
• The chair of the House of Commons declared that it was not possible legally to add female suffrage to a male suffrage bill
• The possibility of male suffrage had satisfied some liberals while the concept of allowing more working class men the vote was sufficiently concerning to other Liberals as well as Cons
• The arson attacks in 1913 by suffragettes had pushed away moderate supporters