Conciliation bills were proposed legislation which would extend the right of women to vote in the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

to just over a million wealthy, property-owning women. After the January 1910 election, an all-party Conciliation party, consisting of 36 members of parliament and chaired by Lord Lytton,"Woman Suffrage", ''The Times'', 27 May 1910, p. 10. proposed the new Parliamentary Franchise (Women) Bill. Three Conciliation bills were put before the House of Commons, one each year in 1910, 1911 and in 1912, but all failed. While the Liberal government of

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 ...

supported this, a number of backbenchers, both Conservative and Liberal, did not, fearing that it would damage their parties’ success in

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s. Some pro-suffrage groups rejected the Bills because they only gave the vote to propertied women; some Members of Parliament rejected them because they did not want any women to have the right to vote. Liberals also opposed the Bill because they believed that the women whom the bill would enfranchise were more likely to vote Conservative than Liberal.

Conciliation Bill 1910

Prime Minister Asquith agreed to give the bill parliamentary time after pressure from the Cabinet. The Bill passed its first reading. It passed a second reading with 320 for the notion and 175 against on 12 July. However Asquith called a general election on the 18th November 1910, meaning further parliamentary process could not take place. 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 ...

saw this as a betrayal, and their protest march became known as

Black Friday (1910) Black Friday was a suffragette demonstration in London on 18November 1910, in which 300 women marched to the Houses of Parliament as part of their campaign to secure voting rights for women. The day earned its name from the violence meted ...

Conciliation Bill 1911

The Second Conciliation Bill was debated on 5 May 1911 and won a majority of 255 to 88 as a

Private Members Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

. The bill was promised a week of government time. However, in November Asquith announced that he was in favour of a

manhood suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slog ...

bill and that suffragists could suggest and propose an amendment that would allow some women to vote. The bill was consequently dropped.

Conciliation Bill 1912

The Parliamentary Franchise (Women) Bill was again introduced on 19 February 1912 and set down for Second Reading on 22 March, although the debate was later delayed to 29 March. However this time the Bill was defeated by 208 to 222. The reason for the defeat was that the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...

believed that a debate over votes for women would be used to prevent Irish home rule. However the

blamed

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 (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...

, as the eight members of the Government who had voted against the Bill would have overturned the result had they voted the other way."The Conciliation Bill Rejection", ''The Times'', 1 April 1912, p. 6. The Franchise Bill, for universal manhood suffrage, was introduced in 1912 but was strongly criticised, and made no progress.

References

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Extracts from MPs who debated the passage of the Bill
1910 in British law Proposed laws of the United Kingdom Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom 1911 in British law 1912 in British law 1910 in women's history 1911 in women's history 1912 in women's history

Conciliation Bill 1910

Conciliation Bill 1911

Conciliation Bill 1912

See also

References

External links