Advertisement
For £35 you can help a vendor keep themselves warm, dry, fed, earning and progressing
BUY A VENDOR SUPPORT KIT
Culture

'209 Women' celebrates 100 years since women could be elected to Parliament

Unveiled in time for the anniversary of the first election where some women could cast a vote, the exhibition includes portraits of female MPs, all photographed by female photographers in an all-female initiative

On this day, 100 years ago, for the first time in British politics women could cast a ballot in a general election. The 1918 general election was also the first time women could be elected as MPs. While equal voting rights for all wouldn’t be won until 1928, it was without doubt a landmark day in the history of suffrage and Britain.

The first woman to be elected to the House of Commons on that day was Constance Markievicz. However, the Sinn Fein candidate refused to take her seat that day, making a protest against Irish independence. A year later it was Nancy Astor who became the first woman to take her seat in Parliament.

209 Women

Opening today on the centenary of that general election, ‘209 Women’ is an exhibition of photographic portraits of all currently sitting female MPs, on display for free at Westminster for two months. It’s the work of a collective of 209 UK-based female photographers – among them The Big Issue’s own star snapper Louise Haywood-Schiefer, who shot Labour member for Dulwich and West Norwood Helen Hayes.

The exhibition will then travel to the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool.  ‘209 Women’ is delivered in partnership with Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool City Council, the Royal Photographic Society and The Sorority.

Visit parliament.uk for more information.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Image: Yvette Cooper MP by Hannah Starkey

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

View all
Seven Samurai is the daddy of all action films. So why have I never watched it until now?
Film

Seven Samurai is the daddy of all action films. So why have I never watched it until now?

Ground by Jadelin Gangbo review – hope for healing amid the wreckage
Books

Ground by Jadelin Gangbo review – hope for healing amid the wreckage

Gliff by Ali Smith review – ingenious and warm anti-establishment storytelling
Books

Gliff by Ali Smith review – ingenious and warm anti-establishment storytelling

Horrible Histories author Terry Deary: 'The most important day in history is tomorrow'
Books

Horrible Histories author Terry Deary: 'The most important day in history is tomorrow'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know