Peeresses, Parliament and Prejudice: The Struggle to Admit Women to the House of Lords, 1918-1963

Although women won the vote in 1918, and there had been women peers for centuries, it was not until 1958 that women could sit in the House of Lords. The campaign to gain admission to the Upper House is a remarkable but largely forgotten story. This lecture by Dr Duncan Sutherland will recount the determined efforts over many years – especially by former suffragette Viscountess Rhondda – to secure a seat and voice for women in the Second Chamber, and explain why achieving full political equality took so long.