Women's Social and Political Union (W.S.P.U.)
Date established: Oct 1903
Date ended: 1917
By 1900, women had been campaigning for the right to vote in parliamentary elections for over half a century.
In 1903 the 'votes for women' campaign was energised by the creation of the Women's Social and Political Union (W.S.P.U). Founded in Manchester by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters, the W.S.P.U. aimed to 'wake up the nation' to the cause of women's suffrage through 'Deeds not Words'. The decision to relocate the headquarters to London in 1906 transformed the suffrage movement. For the next eight years, the fight to win the vote became a highly public and, at times, violent struggle played out against the backdrop of Edwardian London.
By taking their campaign to the streets, the Women's Social and Political Union attracted maximum publicity. Identifiable by their purple, white and green colour scheme, the suffragettes became a familiar sight in central London. The move to the political heart of the nation enabled the suffragettes to maintain a constant presence in Whitehall, petitioning Downing Street, heckling M.P.s and chaining themselves to government buildings.
A London base also provided opportunities for staging spectacular demonstrations. Women's Sunday in June 1908, the first 'monster meeting' to be held by the W.S.P.U, brought suffragettes from all over the United Kingdom to march in seven different processions through central London to Hyde Park. The highly choreographed demonstration attracted a crowd of up to 300,000, drawn by the spectacle of the delegates dressed in the suffragette tricolour and carrying over 700 banners.
The Coronation of George V in 1911 inspired the W.S.P.U. to organise its own spectacular coronation pageant. The four-mile suffragette Coronation Procession through central London culminated in a rally at the Royal Albert Hall and involved over 60,000 delegates dressed in national and historical costume.
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