Barbara Bodichon Ayrton-Gould (née Ayrton; 3 April 1886
– 14 October 1950) was a British
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
politician and suffragist who served as the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Hendon North from 1945 to 1950.
Background and family life
Ayrton-Gould was born in
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, London, the daughter of prominent electrical engineers and inventors
Hertha Marks Ayrton
Phoebe Sarah Hertha Ayrton (28 April 1854 – 26 August 1923) was a British engineer, mathematician, physicist and inventor, and suffragette. Known in adult life as Hertha Ayrton, born Phoebe Sarah Marks, she was awarded the Hughes Medal by the ...
and
William Edward Ayrton
William Edward Ayrton, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (14 September 18478 November 1908) was an English physicist and electrical engineer.
Life
Early life and education
Ayrton was born in London, the son of Edward Nugent Ayrton, a barrister, ...
. She was educated at
Notting Hill High School
Notting Hill and Ealing High School is an independent school for girls aged 4 – 18 in Ealing, London. Founded in 1873, it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust. It has a Junior Department of 310 girls (ages 4–11) ...
, and studied chemistry and physics
at
University College, London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = Â ...
.
She married the writer
Gerald Gould
Gerald Gould (1885 – 2 November 1936) was an English writer, known as a journalist and reviewer, essayist and poet.
Life
He was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, and brought up in Norwich, and studied at University College London and Magdalen C ...
(1885–1936);
the artist
Michael Ayrton
Michael Ayrton (20 February 1921 – 16 November 1975)T. G. Rosenthal, "Ayrton , Michael (1921–1975)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008accessed 24 Jan 2015/ref> was a British arti ...
(1921–1975) was their son. Until 1930, Gould worked as publicity manager of the
Daily Herald.
Suffrage work
In 1906, she became a member of the
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and ...
and gave up her science research
to be a full-time organizer for them by 1909.
['Suffragette': The Real Women Who Inspired the Film](_blank)
'' Bio.'', 23 October 2015, by Sara Kettler She wrote the pro-suffrage pamphlet ''The Democratic Plea'' for the
Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisement.
In March 1912, Ayrton-Gould participated in smashing store windows in the
West End of London
The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...
for suffrage, for which she served time in prison.
On her release, in 1913, she went to France, disguised as a schoolgirl, so she would not be arrested again.
In 1914, Ayrton-Gould left the Women's Social and Political Union due to frustration with the autocratic tendencies of their leaders, as well as
Christabel Pankhurst
Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bord ...
's continuing absence.
On 6 February 1914, she, her husband, and
Evelyn Sharp founded the
United Suffragists
The United Suffragists was a women's suffrage movement in the United Kingdom.
History
The group was founded on 6 February 1914, by former members and supporters of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). In contrast to the WSPU, it admit ...
,
notable for accepting both male and female members.
The United Suffragists ended their campaign when 1918's
Representation of the People Act
Representation of the People Act is a stock short title used in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Mauritius, Pakistan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the ...
gave women limited suffrage in the United Kingdom.
Political office
Ayrton-Gould became a member of the
National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties:
* National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa
* Australian Labor Party National Executive
* Nationa ...
of the Labour Party in 1929,
and served as vice-Chair in 1938 and Chair of the Labour Party from 1939 to 1940.
As from 1922, she made four unsuccessful attempts to get elected as MP.
During the
general election of 1929 she missed victory in
Northwich
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
by only four votes.
The fifth time, Gould was elected
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for newly created
Hendon North constituency in
Labour's landslide victory of 1945.
The forerunner constituency, Hendon, had since 1935 grown considerably in population (and to some extent number of homes) and was split in two; it had been solidly won by
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
candidates since 1910, however the north division fell to Gould's campaign, a feat not to be repeated until 1997 by a Labour candidate. In Parliament, the two main issues of Gould's concern were food supplies and child poverty. Thus, she succeeded in introducing a resolution which called for a government enquiry into
child neglect
A form of child abuse, child neglect is an act of caregivers (e.g., parents) that results in depriving a child of their basic needs, such as the failure to provide adequate supervision, health care, clothing, or housing, as well as other physica ...
.
[Perera, Kathryn (3 January 2011). For what we have done and for what we have failed to do: Barbara Ayrton Gould. ]LabourList
LabourList is a British news website supportive of, but independent of, the Labour Party, launched in 2009. Describing itself as Labour's "biggest independent grassroots e-network", the site's content includes news, commentary, interviews, campa ...
, 3 January 2011. Retrieved from http://labourlist.org/2011/01/for-what-we-have-done-and-for-what-we-have-failed-to-do-barbara-ayrton-gould/. She also was a
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
in
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
.
Ayrton-Gould held the seat until
losing the next general election (in 1950), when it was gained by
Ian Orr-Ewing (
Con).
She withdrew as prospective candidate for the constituency in September because of ill health.
A month later Gould died, eight months after leaving the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayrton-Gould, Barbara
1886 births
1950 deaths
British people of Polish-Jewish descent
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1945–1950
Alumni of University College London
People educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School
Chairs of the Labour Party (UK)
20th-century British women politicians
Barbara
Women's Social and Political Union