Lady Astor becomes first woman to take seat in Westminster
London, 2 December 1919 - Less than a year after Constance Markievicz was elected as an MP on an abstentionist Sinn Féin ticket, the first woman has taken her seat in the Westminster Parliament.
Nancy Astor was introduced to the House of Commons by the Prime Minister and Arthur Balfour, Lord President of the Council.
Dressed mostly in black, including a black velvet hat, Lady Astor took the oath, kissed the book and signed the roll of Parliament. As she did, Col. Will Thorne called across from the Labour benches: ‘Lloyd George, you’ll be losing your job soon’, a quip that appeared to amuse and delight the men sitting around him and which drew a smile on the face of the Prime Minister himself.
The new MP was met with a congratulatory handshake from the Speaker of the House and after her introduction, she was joined by her husband in the lobby. Viscount Astor watched proceedings from the Distinguished Strangers’ Gallery, as did the US Ambassador from the Diplomatic Gallery.
A further piece of parliamentary history was made by the presence of two female journalists in the press gallery for the first time.
A selection of photos from Lady Astor's election campaign and victory. Click image to view larger version. (Image: Illustrated London News, 6 December 1919)
Lady Astor’s election
Lady Astor secured her Westminster seat by winning the Plymouth
by-election seat as a Coalition Unionist, with the results
announced on 28 November.
She secured 14,495 votes, 1,064 more than the combined total of her Labour and Liberal opponents. Known to be an articulate and witty speaker, and with a keen interest in questions of social reform, there will be much interest in how her arrival in Westminster will challenge some of the long-established customs of the Commons chamber.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
