This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/06/labour-pledges-posthumous-pardons-for-suffragettes
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Labour pledges posthumous pardons for suffragettes | Labour pledges posthumous pardons for suffragettes |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Jeremy Corbyn says ‘enormous contribution and sacrifice’ of campaigners must be honoured | Jeremy Corbyn says ‘enormous contribution and sacrifice’ of campaigners must be honoured |
| Jessica Elgot Political correspondent | Jessica Elgot Political correspondent |
| Tue 6 Feb 2018 12.16 GMT | Tue 6 Feb 2018 12.16 GMT |
| Last modified on Tue 6 Feb 2018 16.03 GMT | |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| View more sharing options | View more sharing options |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Close | Close |
| Labour has pledged to issue an official apology and posthumous pardon to convicted suffragettes to mark the centenary of parliament granting the vote to some women for the first time. | Labour has pledged to issue an official apology and posthumous pardon to convicted suffragettes to mark the centenary of parliament granting the vote to some women for the first time. |
| The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, announced the decision at a special meeting of the shadow cabinet at the Museum of London, which is hosting an exhibition about the 50-year campaign for women to get the right to vote. | The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, announced the decision at a special meeting of the shadow cabinet at the Museum of London, which is hosting an exhibition about the 50-year campaign for women to get the right to vote. |
| The home secretary, Amber Rudd, said she would look seriously at proposals to pardon individual women but cautioned that there were issues with pardoning people for criminal acts such as arson. | The home secretary, Amber Rudd, said she would look seriously at proposals to pardon individual women but cautioned that there were issues with pardoning people for criminal acts such as arson. |
| More than 1,000 women were arrested at demonstrations or for direct action such as chaining themselves to railings and vandalising buildings as part of the campaign for the right to vote. Many were imprisoned and subjected to harsh treatment including force-feeding of those on hunger strike. | More than 1,000 women were arrested at demonstrations or for direct action such as chaining themselves to railings and vandalising buildings as part of the campaign for the right to vote. Many were imprisoned and subjected to harsh treatment including force-feeding of those on hunger strike. |
| Speaking on the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, Corbyn said: “As a country we must recognise and honour the enormous contribution and sacrifice made by women who campaigned for the right to vote. | Speaking on the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, Corbyn said: “As a country we must recognise and honour the enormous contribution and sacrifice made by women who campaigned for the right to vote. |
| “Many of those women were treated appallingly by society and the state. Convictions of suffragettes were politically motivated and bore no relation to the acts committed. Some were severely mistreated and force-fed in prison post-conviction so a pardon could mean something to their families. | “Many of those women were treated appallingly by society and the state. Convictions of suffragettes were politically motivated and bore no relation to the acts committed. Some were severely mistreated and force-fed in prison post-conviction so a pardon could mean something to their families. |
| “Labour in government will both pardon the suffragettes and give an official apology for the miscarriages of justice and wider persecution they suffered.” | “Labour in government will both pardon the suffragettes and give an official apology for the miscarriages of justice and wider persecution they suffered.” |
| Rudd said she was sympathetic to the aims of the proposal by campaigners to pardon suffragettes but said it was not simple. “Instinctively I can see where that campaign is coming from so I will take a look and see if there is a proposal that I can take more seriously,” she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain. “But in terms of pardoning for arson, for violence like that … that is a little trickier.” | Rudd said she was sympathetic to the aims of the proposal by campaigners to pardon suffragettes but said it was not simple. “Instinctively I can see where that campaign is coming from so I will take a look and see if there is a proposal that I can take more seriously,” she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain. “But in terms of pardoning for arson, for violence like that … that is a little trickier.” |
| Theresa May’s spokesman said she sympathised with the calls but shared Rudd’s concerns about the practicality of the idea. | Theresa May’s spokesman said she sympathised with the calls but shared Rudd’s concerns about the practicality of the idea. |
| “The prime minister and whole government are celebrating the achievement of the women’s suffrage movement today. It transformed British democracy,” he said. | “The prime minister and whole government are celebrating the achievement of the women’s suffrage movement today. It transformed British democracy,” he said. |
| “As the home secretary pointed out this morning, it’s not straightforward, particularly when pardons relate to acts that are still criminal. But we completely understand where the campaign is coming from, and as the home secretary said she will look at the proposals.” | “As the home secretary pointed out this morning, it’s not straightforward, particularly when pardons relate to acts that are still criminal. But we completely understand where the campaign is coming from, and as the home secretary said she will look at the proposals.” |
| Among those who have campaigned for posthumous pardons is the Fawcett Society, which said the women were not criminals and were fighting for a noble cause. | Among those who have campaigned for posthumous pardons is the Fawcett Society, which said the women were not criminals and were fighting for a noble cause. |
| The Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, has also backed calls for the women to be pardoned. In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Davidson wrote: “Voting was a value judgment, not an intrinsic right. That inequality is one of the reasons why I support calls by family members to offer a posthumous pardon to those suffragettes charged with righting that wrong.” | The Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, has also backed calls for the women to be pardoned. In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Davidson wrote: “Voting was a value judgment, not an intrinsic right. That inequality is one of the reasons why I support calls by family members to offer a posthumous pardon to those suffragettes charged with righting that wrong.” |
| Previous home secretaries, including Labour’s David Blunkett, have resisted calls to extend pardons to suffragettes, saying they should only be used if new evidence comes to light or if the crime they were punished for no longer exists – as with the second world war codebreaker Alan Turing, who was sentenced for gross indecency for being gay. Turing was pardoned because that crime no longer existed. | Previous home secretaries, including Labour’s David Blunkett, have resisted calls to extend pardons to suffragettes, saying they should only be used if new evidence comes to light or if the crime they were punished for no longer exists – as with the second world war codebreaker Alan Turing, who was sentenced for gross indecency for being gay. Turing was pardoned because that crime no longer existed. |
| Some campaigners have also expressed unease at the prospect of a pardon, given the women knowingly broke the law as a radical act to demand the vote. | Some campaigners have also expressed unease at the prospect of a pardon, given the women knowingly broke the law as a radical act to demand the vote. |
| The women’s rights campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who led the lobbying of the Bank of England to ensure a women was on UK banknotes and campaigned for a suffragette statue in Parliament Square, tweeted: “The suffragettes were not unwitting victims. They deliberately broke the law to make a point. ‘No taxation without representation,’ for example. | The women’s rights campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who led the lobbying of the Bank of England to ensure a women was on UK banknotes and campaigned for a suffragette statue in Parliament Square, tweeted: “The suffragettes were not unwitting victims. They deliberately broke the law to make a point. ‘No taxation without representation,’ for example. |
| “They were refusing to pay taxes while their voices could not be heard. That was a deliberate point and a deliberate choice. Pardoning them now whitewashes their radicalism – and that is wrong.” | “They were refusing to pay taxes while their voices could not be heard. That was a deliberate point and a deliberate choice. Pardoning them now whitewashes their radicalism – and that is wrong.” |
| Pardoning the suffragettes now is easy. It's a pain-free way to make the government look pro-women and progressive. But this government is not pro-women and progressive. | Pardoning the suffragettes now is easy. It's a pain-free way to make the government look pro-women and progressive. But this government is not pro-women and progressive. |
| The 1918 act granted the vote to women over the age of 30; the franchise was extended to younger women a decade later, in 1928. | The 1918 act granted the vote to women over the age of 30; the franchise was extended to younger women a decade later, in 1928. |
| Women's suffrage | Women's suffrage |
| Labour | Labour |
| Jeremy Corbyn | Jeremy Corbyn |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |