Mabel Besant Hope (born 1880) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

socialist and anarchist activist. Hope became a socialist in 1897, and in 1898 began working in the telegraph department of the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

. She joined the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association in 1901, and also became active in the

Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL played an important ...

, moving to work for it full-time. Hope was a supporter of the Labour Party and a founder member of the

Women's Labour League The Women's Labour League (WLL) was a pressure organisation, founded in London in 1906, to promote the political representation of women in parliament and local bodies. The idea was first suggested by Mary Macpherson, a linguist and journalist wh ...

. From 1906 until 1908, she served on the executive of the league, and at the 1907 Labour Party conference, she spoke in support of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. In 1913, she was a founder of the Anarchist Educational League. She became secretary of the London Council of Women Civil Servants in 1916, but soon afterwards emigrated to the United States.

References

1880 births Year of death missing English anarchists English socialists {{UK-bio-stub