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| PM 'proud' to back Astor statue bid in Plymouth | PM 'proud' to back Astor statue bid in Plymouth |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Prime Minister Theresa May says she is "proud" to back a campaign for a statue of Nancy Astor, the first female MP to take her seat in the House of Commons. | Prime Minister Theresa May says she is "proud" to back a campaign for a statue of Nancy Astor, the first female MP to take her seat in the House of Commons. |
| Plymouth Labour MP Luke Pollard is aiming to mark the 100th anniversary of her election in 1919 to the Plymouth Sutton ward. | Plymouth Labour MP Luke Pollard is aiming to mark the 100th anniversary of her election in 1919 to the Plymouth Sutton ward. |
| It is hoped the statue will be near Lady Astor's former home on Plymouth Hoe. | It is hoped the statue will be near Lady Astor's former home on Plymouth Hoe. |
| Mr Pollard said Mrs May's support was "superb news". | Mr Pollard said Mrs May's support was "superb news". |
| "I hope the PM's support will help us raise the funds we need to erect a statue in time for the centenary of Nancy's election in November 2019," he said. | "I hope the PM's support will help us raise the funds we need to erect a statue in time for the centenary of Nancy's election in November 2019," he said. |
| The cost of the statue will not be known until a design is chosen in a competition which is being launched later this month. | The cost of the statue will not be known until a design is chosen in a competition which is being launched later this month. |
| More news and stories from Devon | More news and stories from Devon |
| Mrs May said Lady Astor "paved the way for the many, but still too few, women who have followed in her footsteps over the last 100 years". | Mrs May said Lady Astor "paved the way for the many, but still too few, women who have followed in her footsteps over the last 100 years". |
| She said that the Plymouth "and the whole UK should be proud of the great strides Nancy Astor made for equality and representation". | She said that the Plymouth "and the whole UK should be proud of the great strides Nancy Astor made for equality and representation". |
| "I am proud to serve as the UK's second female Prime Minister in a Parliament with more female MPs than ever before," she said. | "I am proud to serve as the UK's second female Prime Minister in a Parliament with more female MPs than ever before," she said. |
| "But I want that number to continue to grow - so I am proud to support this initiative to mark the centenary of Nancy Astor's election with a statue, and hope it will inspire new generations of women and girls to play their full part in our democracy." | "But I want that number to continue to grow - so I am proud to support this initiative to mark the centenary of Nancy Astor's election with a statue, and hope it will inspire new generations of women and girls to play their full part in our democracy." |
| The first woman to be elected to Parliament was Constance Markievicz in 1918, but, as a member of Sinn Fein, she had disqualified herself by refusing to take the oath to the monarch. | |
| Lady Astor kept her Plymouth seat, which she fought after her husband became a viscount, until the 1945 election when she decided not to stand. | |
| She died in 1964. |