supportive public turn on them. They continued to pressure the government with their actions, but Parliament only responded with force in return. Police officers were informed to manhandle any violent or disruptive protestors. The attacks and violence may have of persisted, but the government’s interest in the situation did not.
Women had not gained the vote by 1914 for various and some complicated reasons. They had been campaigning for women’s suffrage rights for around 45 year, but they had not really achieved anything important in this time. The government was holding firm and this was because it had to.
The various women’s suffrage groups felt that they were being ignored and that the government did not value them as a particular problem so they decided to take militant style action towards them to gain their attention. As mentioned before, they set fire to pillar-boxes, interrupted political meetings and as in the case of Emily Davison, being killed for their cause. The government however refused to negotiate. If they were to do so, it would almost certainly encourage others like the suffragettes; to use force and attack them in attempts to gain what they wanted, making the government appear weak. They would have appeared vulnerable giving in to any forceful request, despite however strongly the country or other political sections opposed it. Added to Parliament’s problems there was much unrest in the industrial sector with strikes taking place and the low price factories were receiving for their products. There was also the Irish Home Rule campaign in which, the Irish demanded that their country should be handed back to them from the English.
Many politicians were divided on whether to give women the vote. This was not the simple issue of granting them the right to do so or not, but who the women would vote for and the fact that many men and classes who could not vote. If certain women of a certain status were given the vote, the likelihood was that they would vote for different parties, while each party had a different reason for granting different groups the vote. The working women would be seen to vote for the Labour Party as they were the party of the working classes. The middle classes would mainly vote for the Liberals, the party in power, but they had issues with the Liberals such as contraception. The upper class women, who had a life of leisure, would support the Conservatives but they still had no property rights. The main stumbling block though, had to be that of Asquith, the Prime Minister. He was very much opposed to the idea of giving women the vote, and as the Liberals wanted to stay in power, they had to look like a united party and support their leader. This despite the fact that many inside the party were for giving women the vote as it would most likely give them an advantage.
There were also many prevailing attitudes in society. The government, the media and even some women felt that universal suffrage should not be awarded. There were feelings that women were intellectually inferior to men and that their capabilities were far more limited. It was felt that they would be giving votes for babies. The media, like the government, were not impresses with the suffragette style of militancy. The Times was quoted as saying:
“Reckless fanatism is not really qualification for the vote”.
Women though, felt that they should still have the right to vote and thought while they obey the same laws and pay the same taxes as men, they should have equal voting opportunities. Their cause would be helped greatly by their involvement in World War 1.
As war broke out, the suffragettes and suffragists became very patriotic and assumed great support for their country. They helped also by taking men’s places in jobs, previously thought they could not do. They helped the army by making shells and ammunition rounds in the factories while also providing healthcare and nursing for injured soldiers along with many other helpful aspects of the effort. Women had also set up their own organisations such as the WRNS (women’s royal navy service) as well as the Women’s Royal Air Force. These organisations were undertaking dangerous work, but were doing the jobs that were vital in the allies winning the war. This was the major factor in changing public view on the abilities of women and their claim to equal rights. Their work was essential and Asquith acknowledged this:
“When the war comes to an end, have not the women a special claim to be heard on the many questions which will arise affecting their interests? I say quite frankly I cannot deny that claim.
However, the effort by the women of Britain was highlighted more so by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, led by Lenin. During this, the working classes had revolting against the government and had taken control of the country. The English government did not want a repeat of these scenes and so they granted a change in the electoral system. The register was changed due to this and the fact only about one in five soldiers lived at their old addresses. The lower working classes and women had been granted the vote after the war for the first time, due to their efforts.
