An Act to assimilate the franchises for men and women in respect of parliamentary and local government elections; and for purposes consequential thereon.
The 1928 Act widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men. It gave the vote to all women over 21 years old, regardless of property ownership. Prior to this act only women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications could vote.
The bill became law on 2 July 1928, having been introduced in March. The leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies who had campaigned for the vote, Millicent Fawcett, was still alive and attended the parliament session to see the vote take place. She wrote in her diary the same night "It is almost exactly 61 years ago since I heard John Stuart Mill introduce his suffrage amendment to the Reform Bill on 20 May 1867. So I have had extraordinary good luck in having seen the struggle from the beginning.”[citation needed]
On 5 August 1928, Millicent Fawcett obtained a letter from the prime minister Stanley Baldwin. He points out that even though there were obstacles in passing the bill, he always believed it would be ratified in "the simple and complete form it ultimately assumed".[4] He finishes the letter by expressing a hope that equal vote would be beneficial for the country and it would serve for the greater good in the United Kingdom.[4]
Resultsedit
The Act added five million more women to the electoral roll and had the effect of making women a majority, 52.7%, of the electorate in the 1929 general election,[5] which was termed the "Flapper Election".[6]
^Hansard, House of Commons, fifth edition, vol 219, col 1035
^Albjerg, Victor Lincoln; Albjerg, Esther Marguerite Hall; Albjerg, Marguerite Hall (1951). Europe from 1914 to the Present. McGraw-Hill. p. 257.
^Cole, G. D. H. (7 December 2018). British Working Class Politics, 1832-1914. Routledge. ISBN978-0-429-82018-2.
^ abBaldwin, Stanley. Letter to Fawcett, Millicent. 5 Aug. 1928. MS
^Heater, Derek (2006). Citizenship in Britain: A History. Edinburgh University Press. p. 145. ISBN9780748626724.
^"The British General Election of 1929". CQ Researcher by CQ Press. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
Further readingedit
Berthezène, Clarisse, and Julie Gottlieb, eds., Rethinking Right-Wing Women: Gender And The Conservative Party, 1880s To The Present (Manchester UP, 2018).
Jarvis, David. "Mrs Maggs and Betty: The Conservative Appeal to Women Voters in the 1920s." Twentieth Century British History 5.2 (1994): 129–152.
Thackeray, David. "Building a peaceable party: masculine identities in British Conservative politics, c. 1903–24." Historical Research 85.230 (2012): 651–673.
External linksedit
Equal Franchise Act notes on Spartacus Education
Parliament UK - Stanley Baldwin to Millicent Fawcett, 1928
The text of the Act
Image of The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928
January 01, 1970
representation, people, equal, franchise, 1928, parliament, united, kingdom, this, expanded, representation, people, 1918, which, given, some, women, vote, parliamentary, elections, first, time, after, world, sometimes, referred, fifth, reform, parliament, uni. The Representation of the People Equal Franchise Act 1928 1 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom This act expanded on the Representation of the People Act 1918 which had given some women the vote in Parliamentary elections for the first time after World War I It is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Reform Act 2 3 Representation of the People Equal Franchise Act 1928Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to assimilate the franchises for men and women in respect of parliamentary and local government elections and for purposes consequential thereon Citation18 amp 19 Geo 5 c 12Territorial extent United KingdomDatesRoyal assent2 July 1928CommencementNoOther legislationRepealed byRepresentation of the People Act 1948Status RepealedText of statute as originally enacted The 1928 Act widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men It gave the vote to all women over 21 years old regardless of property ownership Prior to this act only women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications could vote Contents 1 Passing of the act 2 Results 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksPassing of the act editThe act was passed by the Conservative Party without much opposition from other parties citation needed The bill became law on 2 July 1928 having been introduced in March The leader of the National Union of Women s Suffrage Societies who had campaigned for the vote Millicent Fawcett was still alive and attended the parliament session to see the vote take place She wrote in her diary the same night It is almost exactly 61 years ago since I heard John Stuart Mill introduce his suffrage amendment to the Reform Bill on 20 May 1867 So I have had extraordinary good luck in having seen the struggle from the beginning citation needed On 5 August 1928 Millicent Fawcett obtained a letter from the prime minister Stanley Baldwin He points out that even though there were obstacles in passing the bill he always believed it would be ratified in the simple and complete form it ultimately assumed 4 He finishes the letter by expressing a hope that equal vote would be beneficial for the country and it would serve for the greater good in the United Kingdom 4 Results editThe Act added five million more women to the electoral roll and had the effect of making women a majority 52 7 of the electorate in the 1929 general election 5 which was termed the Flapper Election 6 See also editReform Acts Timeline of women s suffrage Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution Women s suffrage in the United Kingdom Representation of the People Act Suffragette bombing and arson campaign Women in the House of Commons of the United KingdomReferences edit Hansard House of Commons fifth edition vol 219 col 1035 Albjerg Victor Lincoln Albjerg Esther Marguerite Hall Albjerg Marguerite Hall 1951 Europe from 1914 to the Present McGraw Hill p 257 Cole G D H 7 December 2018 British Working Class Politics 1832 1914 Routledge ISBN 978 0 429 82018 2 a b Baldwin Stanley Letter to Fawcett Millicent 5 Aug 1928 MS Heater Derek 2006 Citizenship in Britain A History Edinburgh University Press p 145 ISBN 9780748626724 The British General Election of 1929 CQ Researcher by CQ Press Retrieved 15 January 2019 Further reading editBerthezene Clarisse and Julie Gottlieb eds Rethinking Right Wing Women Gender And The Conservative Party 1880s To The Present Manchester UP 2018 Jarvis David Mrs Maggs and Betty The Conservative Appeal to Women Voters in the 1920s Twentieth Century British History 5 2 1994 129 152 Thackeray David Building a peaceable party masculine identities in British Conservative politics c 1903 24 Historical Research 85 230 2012 651 673 External links editEqual Franchise Act notes on Spartacus Education Parliament UK Stanley Baldwin to Millicent Fawcett 1928 The text of the Act Image of The Representation of the People Equal Franchise Act 1928 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Representation of the People Equal Franchise Act 1928 amp oldid 1223220167, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
