Nancy Stewart Parnell (14 May 1901 – 1975) 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, ...

Liberal politician and Trade Unionist who was President of the National Union of Women Teachers.

Background

Parnell was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, a daughter of Bertram Damer Parnell and Madeleine Byrne. She was a great-niece of

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

. She grew up in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, where she attended the Notre Dame High School, and then the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, where she received a scholarship. While at the university, she became active in support of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. She also joined the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society and spoke in support of votes for women under the age of thirty. From 1918 to 1929 only women over 30 had the vote. She served as secretary of

Liverpool Students' Union John Moores Students' Union (JMSU), (officially the Liverpool John Moores University Students' Union; formerly the Liverpool Students' Union; LSU or LiverpoolSU) is the students' union of Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in Liverpool, ...

in 1921/22.

Career

After university, Parnell became a school teacher, teaching at a Liverpool convent. She joined the

National Union of Women Teachers The National Union of Women Teachers (NUWT) was a trade union representing women schoolteachers in Great Britain. It originated in 1904 as a campaign for equal pay for equal work, and dissolved in 1961, when this was achieved. History Women te ...

, serving as its president in 1936. In 1935 at a meeting in Leeds, she pointed out that women were being appointed ahead of men because they were cheaper: “Men ought to realise that they were the losers because of inequality of pay.” She was active in the

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 ...

and stood as its candidate in Willesden East at the

1935 United Kingdom general election The 1935 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 14 November 1935 and resulted in a large, albeit reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party. The greatest number of members, ...

, although she took only 7.3% of the vote and a distant third place. Much of Parnell's time was devoted to the London Region Federation of the

League of Nations Union The League of Nations Union (LNU) was an organization formed in October 1918 in Great Britain to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League of N ...

and in 1936 she became its assistant organiser. She later became London Regional Officer of its successor, the

United Nations Association A United Nations Association (UNA) is a non-governmental organization that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of member states and the United Nations to raise public awareness of the UN and its work, to promot ...

, retiring in 1960. In 1961 her book 'A Venture in Faith' was published. It was a history of St. Joan's Social and Political Alliance 1911-1961, formerly known as the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnell, Nancy Stewart 1901 births 1975 deaths Alumni of the University of Liverpool Trade unionists from London Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates