Alison Vickers Garland (10 April 1862 – 26 September 1939), was a

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and British

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician.

Background

Garland was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

in 1862. She was the second daughter of Alfred Stephen Garland, master silversmith and Isabella Priestley of Grovefield,

Political career

Garland was involved in various political groups. She was a member of the executive committee of the Union of Practical Suffragists in 1897. In 1899, she was elected as the president of the Devon Union of the Women's Liberal Associations. Also in 1899, she was the delegate from the British Indian Parliamentary Committee that was sent to the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

. She rose to prominence in the Liberal Party, firstly as President of Tavistock Women's Liberal Association. In 1904 she became a member of the executive of the Women's National Liberal Federation. She was also an active member of the

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was ren ...

, the leading mass organisation campaigning for Votes for Women. In 1908 she joined the Women's Liberals Forward Suffrage Union, a successor organisation to the Union of Practical Suffragists. In 1911, she was part of this group that met with Liberal Government leaders

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

and

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

to discuss the introduction of Votes for Women. Despite her prominence in the Liberal Party and in the Suffrage movement, she never secured a candidacy in Tavistock or any promising constituency for a Liberal candidate. She was Liberal candidate for the

Portsmouth South Portsmouth South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Stephen Morgan of the Labour Party. Morgan is the first Labour MP to represent the seat. Boundaries 1918–1950: The County Borough of ...

Division of Hampshire at the 1918 General Election. She had the support of Liberal Party Leader

but not that of the Coalition Prime Minister

who endorsed her Unionist opponent; She was Liberal candidate for the Dartford Division of Kent at the 1922 General Election. Again, she lacked the support of Lloyd George, whose candidate gained the seat; She did not contest either the 1923 or 1924 General Elections. In July 1924, at the women's international housing congress at Caxton Hall, she identified a lack of tradesmen as a factor in the housing shortage in Britain. Early in 1929 she was approached by Barrow Liberal Association to be their prospective parliamentary candidate but declined. She was instead Liberal candidate for the unpromising

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Division of Lancashire at the 1929 General Election; She did not stand for parliament again. However, she continued to speak for the Liberal Party around the country. She was President of the Women's National Liberal Federation from 1934-36. On 11 May 1937 she was awarded the OBE for political and public services.The London Gazette, 14 May 1937

Background

Political career

References

Further reading