Political Advancement between the Wars?

• Although 8.5 Million women over the age of 30 gained the right to vote in 1918, only 17 women stood as parliamentary candidates, but only 1 was elected, this was Constance Markievicz (although she was an Irish Republican so refused to take her seat in the House of Commons)
• In 1922, there was 5 Female MP's, but in 1935, there was 9 Female MP's
• One factor why women didn't advance in politics was the structure of the main parties
• While organisation like the NUSEC were well-run, they lacked the sort of expertise and local party machinery to help launch an effective 'Women's Party'
• In 1928, the NUSEC split so there wasn't a party representing women's issues
• Women made important contributions to social and welfare reforms, such as the 1922 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (which raised the age of legally acceptable consent from 13 to 16)
• Women made important contributions to social and welfare reforms, such as the 1923 Bastardy Act (which allowed children born before marriage to be recognised as legitimate after their parents' marriage)
• Female Politicians tended to focus on local, rather than national politics as this was dominated (MP Edith Summerskill said the House of Commons was "like a boys school which had decided to take a few girls")
• There was a tradition of women serving on local board, where they helped with social issues such as health & education, this was seen as an extension of their domestic sphere of expertise (couldn't break away from the domestic sphere)
• Between 1918 and 1939, women only made up 5% or 6% of local councillors