Tuesday, 6 February 2018, marked the 100thanniversary of female suffrage – women beginning to win the right to vote in UK elections. The Representation of the People Act 1918 passed into law, enfranchising women over the age of 30 who met minimum property qualifications, as well as men over 21. About 8.4 million women gained the vote. A further Act of Parliament in November 2018 allowed women to be elected as MPs but it was not until 1928 that the voting franchise was extended to all women over 21, on the same terms that men had gained 10 years earlier.
Some of the early meetings of what became known as the Suffragette Movement took place here at Methodist Central Hall in 1914, re-enacted in the 2015 film ‘Suffragette’, some of which was shot here.
Methodist Central Hall has continued to host many meetings for various movements seeking women’s rights and equality.
Sufferagette outside Methodist Central Hall, Westminster in 1918.
Embed from Getty Images
Paul Moynihan
Archivist
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