Helen Ursula Williams BEM (1896 – November 1979), was a British

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 ...

politician who legally stood for parliament even though she was too young to vote.

Background

She was the daughter of Liberal MP,

Aneurin Williams Aneurin Williams (11 October 1859 – 20 January 1924) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. Background He was born in Dowlais, Glamorganshire, the second son of Edward Williams, CE, JP, ironmaster, of Cleveland Lodge, Mid ...

and Helen Elizabeth Pattinson. Her brother was

Iolo Aneurin Williams Captain Iolo Aneurin Williams (18 June 1890 – 18 January 1962), was a British writer, journalist and Liberal Party politician. His son was the composer Edward Williams. Background Williams was born in Middlesbrough, the son of Aneurin Williams, ...

. She was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

. Her nephew was the composer Edward Williams.

Politics

Her introduction to politics came from having campaigned for her father at Consett in 1918 and 1922. In 1923 at the age of 27 she was selected as Liberal candidate, in succession to her father, for the

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

Division of Durham at the 1923 General Election. This put her in an anomalous position. Since 1918, under the

Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament. At 27 ...

, women over 21 were allowed to stand for parliament. However, in 1923 only women over the age of 30 were allowed to vote. So Williams could ask people to vote for her even though she was not allowed to vote for herself. Up to this point, she was the youngest woman to have ever stood for parliament. Having such a young woman as a parliamentary candidate attracted a lot of media attention, not least after an exchange at one of her public meetings. She was interrupted by a man who demanded "Oh, what do you know?" "Many things" replied Williams. "Well, how many ribs has a pig got?" asked her heckler. "I don't know offhand" retorted Williams, "but if the gentleman will step up on the platform I will be glad to count them." Despite achieving a swing of 5.4% she was unable to unseat the Labour candidate who had defeated her father in 1922. She did not stand for parliament again though she continued her political involvement inside the Liberal party. In 1924 she was elected to the Executive Committee of the

Women's Liberal Federation The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom. History The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of fi ...

. In 1925 she served as Honorary Treasurer of the London Young Liberal Federation. In 1926 she became a leading Liberal party advocate of birth control in welfare centres. She took a particular interest in Proportional Representation and was a member of the Proportional Representation Society. Her brother

was also involved in politics as Liberal candidate for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in 1924 and 1929. She died in 1979"Deaths." Times ondon, England5 Dec. 1979: 28. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ursula 1896 births 1979 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates