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 who had connections with the

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal ** Pan am ...

, and was taken up by several notable socialist women, including Margaret MacDonald,

Marion Phillips Marion Phillips (29 October 1881 – 23 January 1932) was a Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament in England. Early life and education Marion Philllips was born on 29 October 1881 in Melbourne, Australia. Her parents were Philli ...

and

Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a privy counsellor in th ...

. The League's inaugural conference was held in Leicester, with representatives of branches in London, Leicester, Preston and Hull. It was affiliated to the Labour Party. Margaret MacDonald acted as the League's president, while both Margaret Bondfield and Marion Phillips served at times as its organising secretary. Much of the League's campaigning effort was devoted to the issue of women's suffrage. When the Representation of the People Act 1918 gave a partial women's franchise, the League decided to disband as an independent organisation. It became the women's section of the Labour Party, which had reorganised under a new constitution that year. The Labour History Archive and Study Centre at the

People's History Museum The People's History Museum (the National Museum of Labour History until 2001) in Manchester, England, is the UK's national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

holds the records of the Women's Labour League in their collection.

Members of the Executive

The following were members of the executive of the Women's Labour League: *Bertha Ayles *Jennie Baker appears in the 1901 Census at 24 Victoria Avenue Stockon on Tees shown as a Socialist Health Lecturer aged 36 with her husband a trade union organiser *Miss Bell *Miss Bellamy *

Ethel Bentham Ethel Bentham, (5 January 1861 – 19 January 1931) was a progressive doctor, a politician and a suffragist in the United Kingdom. She was born in London, educated at Alexandra School and College in Dublin, the London School of Medicine for W ...

* Katharine Bruce Glasier *Marion Curran *

Charlotte Despard Charlotte Despard (née French; 15 June 1844 – 10 November 1939) was an Anglo-Irish suffragist, socialist, pacifist, Sinn Féin activist, and novelist. She was a founding member of the Women's Freedom League, Women's Peace Crusade, and the ...

*Louise Donaldson *

Mary Gawthorpe Mary Eleanor Gawthorpe (12 January 1881 – 12 March 1973) was an English suffragette, socialist, trade unionist and editor. She was described by Rebecca West as "a merry militant saint". Life Gawthorpe was born in Woodhouse, Leeds to John Ga ...

Florence Harrison Bell Florence Nightingale Harrison Bell (8 October 1865 – September 1948) was a British socialist and suffragist activist. Life Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 8 October 1865 as Florence Tait. She was the illegitimate daughter of Isabella Tait. A ...

* Mabel Hope *F. James *Edith Kerrison *Mary Longman * Eveline Lowe * Mary Macarthur * Margaret MacDonald *Miss McKenzie * Clarice McNab *Mary Macpherson *Edith Macrosty * Mary Middleton *Mary Muir *Minnie Nodin *

*Edith Rigby * Ada Salter *Grace Scholefield *Lisbeth Simm *Margaret Smith * Maud Ward

Notable members

Agnes Dollan Agnes Johnston Dollan Order of the British Empire, MBE ( Moir; 16 August 1887 – 16 July 1966), also known as Agnes, Lady Dollan, was a Scottish suffragette and political activist. She was a leading campaigner during the Glasgow rent st ...

References

Social democracy Democratic socialism Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Women's organisations based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1906 1906 establishments in England Labour Party (UK) Women's wings of political parties in the United Kingdom {{UK-poli-stub

Members of the Executive

Notable members

See also

References