Although there were a number of organisations fighting for women’s suffrage in Portsmouth, the area was also home to branches of the Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League (WNASL). This organisation was formed in July 1908 in response to the perceived growing threat of support for the suffrage cause. The newly-elected (and anti-suffrage) Prime Minister Asquith challenged the suffragists and suffragettes to show that they had the support of the majority of the female population. The WNASL set out to prove that not all women wanted the parliamentary vote. They did, however, support women being able to vote in local elections.
One of the leading figures in the anti-movement in the south of England was Mary Angela Dickens (1862-1948). A writer of children’s books, she was also the granddaughter of the novelist Charles Dickens.
In January 1909, a well-attended anti-suffrage meeting was held in Petersfield. Shortly afterwards, a local branch of the WNASL was formed. The meeting was presided by Mrs Nettleship, who explained that for nearly forty years she had been involved in the women’s movement. The experience, she said, had led her to the conclusion that there was a very strong argument against granting political power to women. Miss Dickens, who also spoke at this meeting, further developed this theme, as reported in the local press:
… the whole of the Suffragist propaganda was based on the ignoring and defying of the fundamental differences fixed by Nature herself between the existence of men and women… for the nation women’s suffrage would mean a huge, increased, irresponsible vote, ultimate petticoat government, and a weakening of that respect for law and order which was the very bulwark of the State.[1]
The inaugural meeting of the Portsmouth branch was held at Sandringham Hall in Southsea on 9 February 1909. In an interview with the Hampshire Telegraph the day before this meeting, Miss Dickens expanded on the League’s philosophy. She disbelieved the argument that the vote would raise women’s wages. Parliament, she said, could be trusted to legislate on behalf of women and children, while women worked for social improvement in their own sphere. She ended with the promise that “we would leave to men the political rule and maintenance of this vast and complex Empire which men have created, while we women strengthen our influence in the great field of local government.”[2] At the first meeting, Miss Dickens urged her supporters to rally to the League, for their indifference might mean the vote being granted.[3]
For the benefit of readers, the Hampshire Telegraph published detailed extracts from the Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League’s manifesto. This document contained the prophecy that:
unless those who hold that the success of the women’s suffrage movement would bring disaster upon England are prepared to take immediate and effective action, judgement may go by default, and our country drift towards a momentous revolution, both social and political, before it has realised the danger involved.[4]
This report provoked a swift response from Miss Nora O’Shea, who was the secretary of the Portsmouth branch of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). In a letter to the Editor she argued that, if women should leave imperial affairs to men, then it was hypocrisy for them to do as they did and help secure votes for those same men. The local branch of the NUWSS challenged Miss Dickens to take part in an open debate upon the subject of women’s suffrage. However, this debate never took place, as the anti-suffragists declined the invitation.[5]
Although the anti-suffrage movement was ultimately defeated, its existence is significant as it demonstrates that not all women supported an expansion of their political rights. Far from being a vocal minority, the WNASL boasted 20,000 members in 1910. The WSPU, by contrast, had 5,000 members by 1914. While the opponents of the suffrage movement are generally characterised as male, the WNASL is evidence that there was also a serious and co-ordinated women-led movement.
By Carole Chapman, a U3A Shared Learning Project researcher for the Citizens Project
Sources
Sarah Peacock, Votes for Women: The Women’s Fight in Portsmouth, December 1983, The Portsmouth Papers, Number 39
Julia Bush, ‘The Anti-Suffrage Movement,’ March 2018, https://www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/the-anti-suffrage-movement
[1] Hampshire Telegraph, 27 January 1909.
[2] Hampshire Telegraph, 8 February 1909.
[3] Hampshire Telegraph, 10 February 1909.
[4] Hampshire Telegraph, 10 February 1909.
[5] Hampshire Telegraph, 11 February 1909.
