Women's Suffrage and Party Politics in Britain, 1866–1914

The first women's suffrage society in Britain was formed in 1867, following the temporary Committee of the previous year. This book appears appropriately in the centenary year. That women should vote is now so generally accepted that few of the post-war generation can appreciate the long and intense struggle before women's right to political equality was recognized. John Stuart Mill presented his Women Suffrage Petition to the House of Commons in 1866. It took Parliament fifty-two years to enfranchise the first women. Dr. Rover, using much original research, discusses the interaction between the political parties and the two movements for women's suffrage, constitutional and militant. The analysis of the attitude of the party leaders towards women's enfranchisement illuminates the characters of the prime ministers of the period and emphasises the difficulties inherent in our parliamentary procedure. FOREWORD 5 CONTENTS 9 PREFACE 11 ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS 13 I. THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT 17 II. THE BACKGROUND TO THE MOVEMENT 28 III. THE BASIS OF THE CLAIM 37 IV. THE ARGUMENTS USED (I) 44 V. THE ARGUMENTS USED (II) 54 VI. POLICY AND TACTICS (I) 69 VII. POLICY AND TACTICS (II) 88 VIII. THE POLITICAL PARTIES 118 IX. THE ANTI-SUFFRAGISTS 186 X. THE POLITICAL DIFFICULTIES 194 XI. EPILOGUE 220 Appendices 227 Appendix I. Table of Women's Suffrage Bills 227 Appendix II. Chart of Major Parliamentary Events 234 Appendix III. Court Cases relating to the Women's Claim to Vote 240 Bibliography 241 Index 249