The Women's National Anti-Suffrage League (1908–18) was established in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 21 July 1908. Its aims were to oppose women being granted the

vote Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

in parliamentary elections, although it did support their having votes in local government elections. It was founded at a time when there was a resurgence of support for the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

movement.

Origins

An anti-suffrage correspondence had taken place in the pages of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' through 1906–07, with further calls for leadership of the anti-suffrage movement being placed in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' in February 1908. Possibly as early as 1907, a letter was circulated to announce the creation of a National Women's Anti-Suffrage Association and inviting recipients to become a member of the Central Organising Committee or a member. It was issued under the names of thirty peeresses who became prominent anti-suffragists, as well as a number of peers and MPs. However, the first meeting of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League only took place the following year on 21 July, at the Westminster Palace Hotel with Lady Jersey in the chair. Seventeen people were nominated to the central committee at this meeting, including

Mrs Humphry Ward Mary Augusta Ward (''née'' Arnold; 11 June 1851 – 24 March 1920) was a British literature, British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward. She worked to improve education for the poor, setting up a Mary Ward Centre, ...

in the chair of the Literary Committee and

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly inf ...

as secretary. Other members were Mrs Frederic Harrison ( Ethel Bertha Harrison), Sophia Lonsdale, Violet Markham,

Beatrice Chamberlain Beatrice Chamberlain (25 May 1862 – 19 November 1918) was a British educationalist and political organizer. Life Chamberlain was born in Edgbaston in 1862. Her father was Joseph Chamberlain, a local industrialist who later became List of Lord M ...

and

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc ( ; ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a French-English writer, politician, and historian. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. His Catholic fait ...

MP.

Aims

The League's aims were to oppose women being granted the parliamentary franchise, though it did support their having votes in local and municipal elections. It published the ''Anti-Suffrage Review'' from December 1908 until 1918. It gathered 337,018 signatures on an anti-suffrage petition, and founded the first local branch in Hawkenhurst in Kent. The first London branch was established in South Kensington under the auspices of Mary, Countess of Ilchester. Soon after, a branch of the League was formed in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1909. In May 1910, a Scottish branch was organised into the Scottish National Anti-Suffrage League by the Duchess of Montrose. By December of that year there were 26 branches or sub-branches in the country, a total which grew to 82 by April 1909 and 104 in July 1910. It was announced that 2000 subscriptions had been received by Dec 1908, rising to 9000 in July 1909. The League's manifesto contained the following arguments against granting the Parliamentary vote to women:

Merger

In 1910, the group amalgamated with the Men's National League for Opposing Women's Suffrage to form the

National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage The National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage was founded in London in December 1910 to oppose the extension of the voting franchise to women in the United Kingdom. It was formed as an amalgamation of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League ...

with

Lord Cromer Earl of Cromer is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, held by members of the British branch of the Anglo-German Baring banking family. It was created in 1901 for Evelyn Baring, 1st Viscount Cromer, long time British Consul-General ...

as president and Lady Jersey as vice-president. The merger was in effect a takeover, with the president of the former organisation, Lord Cromer, becoming president of the new one. In 1912

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

and Lord Weardale became joint presidents. The organisation continued its activities and the publication of the ''Anti-Suffrage Review'' until 1918 when both came to an end as women's suffrage was granted by the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

References

{{reflist Organizations established in 1908 Anti-suffragist organizations Women's organisations based in the United Kingdom 1908 establishments in England 1910 disestablishments in England Organizations disestablished in 1910

Origins

Aims

Merger

Archives

See also

References