Manchester University Press
6 The battle for John Burns’s Battersea revisited
Abstract
In the coming General Election, John Burns had the misfortune to be the only minister defending a central London seat. Both the Pankhursts’ WSPU and the Women's Freedom League (WFL) homed in on his Battersea fiefdom. Indeed, as this was Charlotte Despard's own backyard and Burns appeared to want to prohibit married women's employment, it was little surprise that the WFL produced a special leaflet: ‘Turn Mr Burns out!’ On polling day, Burns was hissed by women in the gallery ~ but was re-elected, as was Lloyd George. Asquith's Liberal government was returned to power, but without its earlier huge majority. Suffrage organizations however remained cautiously optimistic. Brailsford and Nevinson consulted Mrs Fawcett's NUWSS over what compromise suffrage measure might now be possible. It had to be a sufficiently narrow property-based franchise to retain Conservative support, yet broad enough to appease Liberal and Labour. A cross-party Conciliation Committee of MPs was formed and, after much behind-the-scenes lobbying, a Conciliation Bill eventually emerged. It was narrow and would only enfranchise one million women with property. But it would at least establish the principle of equal voting rights for men and women. This was their hope.
Abstract
In the coming General Election, John Burns had the misfortune to be the only minister defending a central London seat. Both the Pankhursts’ WSPU and the Women's Freedom League (WFL) homed in on his Battersea fiefdom. Indeed, as this was Charlotte Despard's own backyard and Burns appeared to want to prohibit married women's employment, it was little surprise that the WFL produced a special leaflet: ‘Turn Mr Burns out!’ On polling day, Burns was hissed by women in the gallery ~ but was re-elected, as was Lloyd George. Asquith's Liberal government was returned to power, but without its earlier huge majority. Suffrage organizations however remained cautiously optimistic. Brailsford and Nevinson consulted Mrs Fawcett's NUWSS over what compromise suffrage measure might now be possible. It had to be a sufficiently narrow property-based franchise to retain Conservative support, yet broad enough to appease Liberal and Labour. A cross-party Conciliation Committee of MPs was formed and, after much behind-the-scenes lobbying, a Conciliation Bill eventually emerged. It was narrow and would only enfranchise one million women with property. But it would at least establish the principle of equal voting rights for men and women. This was their hope.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents 237
- List of maps vii
- List of figures viii
- Acknowledgements xi
- List of abbreviations xiii
- Chronology xiv
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Prelude: people and their politics
- 1 Charlotte Despard and John Burns, the Colossus of Battersea 13
- 2 Muriel Matters goes vanning it with Asquith 24
- 3 Propaganda culture 36
- 4 Parallel politics 48
-
Part II Narrative: October 1909 to April 1911
- 5 Plotting across central London 63
- 6 The battle for John Burns’s Battersea revisited 71
- 7 The Census Bill and the boycott plan 78
- 8 Lloyd George goes a-wooing versus Burns’s ‘vixens in velvet’ 86
- 9 The King’s Speech 97
- 10 Battleground for democracy 108
-
Part III Census night: places and spaces
- 11 Emily Wilding Davison’s Westminster – and beyond 125
- 12 The Nevinsons’ Hampstead – and central London entertainments 132
- 13 Laurence Housman’s Kensington, with Clemence in Dorset 145
- 14 Annie Kenney’s Bristol and Mary Blathwayt’s Bath 154
- 15 Jessie Stephenson’s Manchester and Hannah Mitchell’s Oldham Road 169
- 16 English journey 183
-
Part IV The census and beyond
- 17 After census night 197
- 18 Telling the story 209
- 19 Sources and their analysis 219
-
Front matter
- Contents 237
- Introduction 239
- Abbreviations 242
- Key mass evasions 243
- London boroughs and Middlesex 245
- Midlands 300
- Southern England 333
- Northern England 342
- Notes 363
- Select bibliography 389
- Index 395
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents 237
- List of maps vii
- List of figures viii
- Acknowledgements xi
- List of abbreviations xiii
- Chronology xiv
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Prelude: people and their politics
- 1 Charlotte Despard and John Burns, the Colossus of Battersea 13
- 2 Muriel Matters goes vanning it with Asquith 24
- 3 Propaganda culture 36
- 4 Parallel politics 48
-
Part II Narrative: October 1909 to April 1911
- 5 Plotting across central London 63
- 6 The battle for John Burns’s Battersea revisited 71
- 7 The Census Bill and the boycott plan 78
- 8 Lloyd George goes a-wooing versus Burns’s ‘vixens in velvet’ 86
- 9 The King’s Speech 97
- 10 Battleground for democracy 108
-
Part III Census night: places and spaces
- 11 Emily Wilding Davison’s Westminster – and beyond 125
- 12 The Nevinsons’ Hampstead – and central London entertainments 132
- 13 Laurence Housman’s Kensington, with Clemence in Dorset 145
- 14 Annie Kenney’s Bristol and Mary Blathwayt’s Bath 154
- 15 Jessie Stephenson’s Manchester and Hannah Mitchell’s Oldham Road 169
- 16 English journey 183
-
Part IV The census and beyond
- 17 After census night 197
- 18 Telling the story 209
- 19 Sources and their analysis 219
-
Front matter
- Contents 237
- Introduction 239
- Abbreviations 242
- Key mass evasions 243
- London boroughs and Middlesex 245
- Midlands 300
- Southern England 333
- Northern England 342
- Notes 363
- Select bibliography 389
- Index 395
