Orders of the Day — Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Bill.

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 29 March 1928.

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Photo of Mr Philip Snowden Mr Philip Snowden , Colne Valley

As one of the few surviving Members of the House of Commons who took an active part in the Parliamentary demand for the enfranchisement of women in the days before the War, it gives me great satisfaction to give general support to the Second Reading of this Bill. I do so not merely on my own behalf but on behalf of every member of my party. That party from its inception has been united, unanimous and wholehearted in its support of the political equality of the sexes. I was interested in the historical survey of the question of political enfranchisement made by the Home Secretary. No change in the attitude of political parties towards the extension of the franchise has been more remarkable or more rapid than the change of attitude, if not of opinion, of the two older parties during the last 15 years. The last great Debate that took place in this House upon the enfranchisement of women was in the year before the War, There were acute divisions in the two older parties. The Conservative party, with a few notable exceptions, were wholly opposed to the reform,, and about one-third of the Liberal Members of the House always voted against it. The right hon. Member for Carnarvon Boroughs (Mr. Lloyd George) was a consistent supporter of it. Mr. Asquith and the present Chancellor of the Exchequer were violently opposed to it. Mr. Bonar Law, to whom the Home Secretary has paid such a gracious and well-deserved tribute, was a strong supporter of women's suffrage, and so was Mr. Balfour.

I cannot remember, and certainly I cannot find any record, that the present Prime Minister, either by voice or by vote supported women's suffrage in those days. The Home Secretary was a Member of this House for years before the outbreak of war, but I cannot remember the right hon. Gentleman giving much assistance to us in our agitation for the conferring of the vote upon women. The right hon. Gentleman claims that his party have always been willing to make a, concession of political reform when they considered that the time was ripe. On a great many occasions it has taken a very long time to convince them that the time was ripe, and judging by the way in which the right hon. Gentleman's speech has been received by hon. Members behind him this afternoon, the work of conscientious conversion to women's suffrage has not yet by any means been completed. The only general cheer that he got was when he referred to the lady candidate at Linlithgow, and the only cheer he got in the other parts of his speech came from the Noble Lady the Member for the Sutton Division of Plymouth (Viscountess Astor).

The right hon. Gentleman said that this Bill is the consummation of a long agitation for political enfranchisement. It is 140 years since the first great radical reform movement, led by Major Cartwright, was launched in this country. It took 100 years to get the enfranchisement of householders in the counties. May I remind hon. Members below the Gangway, the members of the Liberal party, of one important fact. The Home Secretary quoted Disraeli. What did Mr. Gladstone say in 1867? It is interesting, and I am quite sure that it will be interesting to hon. Members below the Gangway, who imagine that their party have always been the advocates of a democratic franchise. Mr. Gladstone spoke, I think, in the same Debate from which the Home Secretary has quoted remarks by Mr. Disraeli. Opposing the £6 rateable qualification, Mr. Gladstone said: The £6 qualification would place the working classes in a majority in the constituencies. That has never been the intention of any Bill proposed in this House. I do not think it is a proposal to which Parliament will ever agree. I do not think we are called upon by any consideration of the circumstances to hand over the majority of the constituencies into the hands of the working classes. We have, indeed, moved far from those days, when we have the Home Secretary in a Conservative Government proposing a welcome Measure for the completion of the democratic franchise.