The Royal Mail have issued a set of eight stamps celebrating campaigning in the decade before the right to vote was secured with the 1918 Representation of the People Act.
‘We owe it to their memory’: Family stories from the suffragette movement
We have a piece showcasing the stories of readers’ relatives as the nation marks a century since the act that paved the way for universal suffrage.
Joanna Wickenden Ibarra, London – Granddaughter of Dora Spong
It was my brother, Peter, and his wife, Zulma, who discovered our grandmother Dora’s magnificent Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) certificate, signed by Emmeline Pankhurst. It was a bit torn, lying at the bottom of a drawer.
They had the certificate restored and framed – it measures 26 x 20 inches (60cm x 50cm) and commemorates Dora’s dedication to the cause “ever ready to obey the call of duty”.
We know that Dora and her sister, my great aunt Florence Spong, joined the WSPU in 1908 to fight for the right to vote and spent some time in prison for their actions.
All the women in their family attended WSPU demonstrations. Irene, another great aunt, gave concerts for the cause, and both Florence and Dora were arrested several times and sent to Holloway prison. Florence was charged with stone-throwing at the WSPU deputation of 29 June 1909, sentenced to a month’s imprisonment and went on hunger strike. This did not stop her from repeating the action in protest at the way suffragettes were treated in Parliament Square on “Black Friday” in November 1910, which got her another two months’ imprisonment.
Florence embroidered her signature on the WSPU banner made in Holloway prison that is still on display at the Museum of London.
Among the artefacts that have stayed in the family is a brooch, a portcullis with the symbolic broken chain which, we understood as children, celebrates victory in the fight for women’s suffrage.
From the archive: Manchester celebrates women gaining the vote - February 1918
How the Guardian reported celebrations in Manchester, home of the suffrage movement, to mark the passing of the Representation of the People Act, 100 years ago
Amber Rudd says she puts up with 'hate' because 'female voices in politics matter'
The home secretary Amber Rudd has said she puts up with “hate” because “female voices matter in politics and in life”.
Delivering a statement on the suffrage centenary in the Commons, she said she is often asked by people in her Hastings and Rye constituency: “‘How can you bear it, the hate?”’
Rudd told MPs: “And I’ll tell you: I bear it like other women in this chamber do because I know that female voices matter in politics and in life.
“But we shouldn’t have to bear it: we need to call this sort of behaviour out and make clear that enough is enough.”
The home secretary also announced the opening of a “large grant scheme” to allow local community groups to bid for suffrage projects worth up to 125,000. It’s part of a £5m fund to celebrate the centenary.
She said: “Money will also go to projects specifically designed to increase the number of women in political office, including piloting a programme to inspire young women with opportunities to be leaders in their communities.”
The Guardian’s political correspondent Jessica Elgot is in Manchester for Theresa May’s speech.
Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot)
Theresa May speaking now in Manchester, in purple jacket and suffragette pin #Vote100 pic.twitter.com/P1rOxjjB1B
February 6, 2018
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Our Instagram feed is dedicated to the suffragettes today
Today we are dedicating our Instagram feed to the women who fought for the right to vote, and to those who are continuing to fight for true equality. We are including the words of Emmeline Pankhurst and the photos of Christina Broom, one of the UK’s first press photographers whose pioneering photos of the suffragettes captured a pivotal time for the movement.
Later we’ll look at how far we have to go before true parity is realised. Follow us here https://www.instagram.com/guardian
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