''The Common Cause'' was a weekly publication that supported 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 ...

first published on 15 April 1909 mainly financed by

Margaret Ashton Margaret Ashton (19 January 1856 – 15 October 1937) was an English suffragist, local politician, pacifist and philanthropist, and the first woman City Councillor for Manchester. Career Margaret Ashton was the first woman to run for election t ...

. Its last issue was published on Friday, 30 January 1920, in which it announced its successor The Woman's Leader.

History

In 1908, the Manchester councillor

sold her house in Didsbury to fund the creation of a newspaper, which was eventually founded in an office in Manchester in 1912. The intention was that it would represent the policies of and publish news from the NUWSS, but for legal reasons it could not be an organ of the NUWSS . Instead The Common Cause Publishing Co. Ltd was founded with an initial capital of £2,000 to publish the new paper. Its first editor was

Helena Swanwick Helena Maria Lucy Swanwick CH (née Sickert; 30 January 1864 – 16 November 1939) was a British feminist and pacifist. Her autobiography, ''I Have Been Young'' (1935), gives a remarkable account of the non-militant women's suffrage campaign ...

, who chose the name "Common Cause" because she believed that humanity was "bi-sexual", in other words that there were not "women's causes" or "men's causes". She resigned in June 1912 because of the policy of the NUWSS not to criticise the

WSPU 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 ...

, the main

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

organization, because she felt its militancy was hindering the progress of women's suffrage and regarding them as "the greatest danger we have". She wrote to

C. P. Scott Charles Prestwich Scott (26 October 1846 – 1 January 1932), usually cited as C. P. Scott, was a British journalist, publisher and politician. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the editor of the ''Manchester Guardian'' (now ''the Guardian'') ...

on 19 July 1912, saying "I have much sympathy for feminine rebellion. For their claptrap and dishonesty, for their persecution and terrorism, I have loathing." From 1912 to 1913,

Clementina Black Clementina Maria Black (27 July 1853 – 19 December 1922) was an English writer, feminist and pioneering trade unionist, closely connected with Marxist and Fabian socialists. She worked for women's rights at work and for women's suffrage. Ear ...

was editor. In April 1913,

Maude Royden Agnes Maude Royden (23 November 1876 – 30 July 1956), later known as Maude Royden-Shaw, was an English preacher, suffragist and campaigner for the ordination of women. Early life and education Royden was born in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, the ...

, who had been a regular contributor to the paper, took up the post of editor which she held until 1914. Its last editor was

Ray Strachey Ray Strachey (born Rachel Pearsall Conn Costelloe; 4 June 188716 July 1940) was a British feminist politician, artist and writer. Early life Her father was Irish barrister Benjamin "Frank" Conn Costelloe, and her mother was art historian Mary ...

, who became editor after the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Cause (NUWSS newspaper), The Defunct weekly newspapers Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Publications established in 1912