62 Cole Yellow Glass Ceiling

ThE YEllow GLAss CEiliNG THE MYSTERY of THE disAppEARING LIBERAL woMEN MPS After women became he 1950 Liberal mani- in promoting women into Par- festo boasted proudly liament and government, the eligible to stand for that ‘the part played Liberal Party managed to do election to Parliament by women in the so again only two years before in 1918, the first councils of the Liberal its own disappearance in the TParty is shown by our unani- merger of 1988. The reasons woman Liberal MP mous adoption of a programme for this striking famine are in for women drawn up by women some ways a familiar story from was elected in 1921. Yet Liberals.’1 Certainly, the two the experience of other parties; only six women ever main parties at that time gave a but there is a dimension to the lower profile to women’s status causes which is distinctively Lib- sat as Liberal MPs, and as an issue, and Liberal policy eral, and which persists today. half of them won only demanding equal pay entitled the party to regard its propos- one election, half were als as, in one reviewer’s assess- Women Liberal MPs elected at by-elections, ment, ‘more Radical than the Only six women ever sat as Lib- Labour Party’s.’2 These pro- eral MPs, and they had an unu- and all but one were posals were, as the manifesto sual profile: half of them won directly related acknowledged, in part the only one election, half were result of the efforts of an almost elected at by-elections, and all to Liberal leaders. unbroken line of female repre- but one were directly related to sentation on the Liberal benches established Liberal leaders. Between 1951 and 1986 in the Commons for three dec- The 1920s saw a relative glut there were no Liberal ades at that point. Despite the of women Liberal MPs: Marga- dramatic decline in the MPs’ ret Wintringham won Louth at women MPs at all. overall numbers, the group had a by-election in September 1921 Matt Cole considers included a woman in every Par- caused by the death of her hus- liament since 1918. band Tom,3 and was joined at the record, and Yet within eighteen months the 1923 election by Lady Vera examines the factors of the 1950 election there were Terrington, wife of a Liberal no women Liberal MPs; nor peer, who won Wycombe. Both which made it so were there to be for another ten were defeated in the rout of difficult to get women general elections and thirty- 1924, but later in that Parliament five years. Whilst the two main the St Ives by-election was won Liberals elected. parties made faltering progress by Hilda Runciman, who held 26 Journal of Liberal History 62 Spring 2009 ThE YEllow GLAss CEiliNG THE MYSTERY of THE disAppEARING LIBERAL woMEN MPS the seat from 1928–29, when her It was not until May 1986 that broadcast with Jeremy Thorpe, husband Walter took it over. At another woman joined the Lib- fought Finchley, Falmouth and that election, the daughter of eral benches, when local coun- three times at Ipswich, includ- the party leader, Megan Lloyd cillor Elizabeth Shields won the ing a by-election, but came George, became the sole Liberal Ryedale by-election. She lost third every time. Better results woman in the Commons, which the seat in 1987, but Ray Michie came for Heather Harvey, she remained, holding Anglesey, won Argyll & Bute to become who fought five contests in the until 1951. the last woman to win a parlia- 1950s, securing an impressive Women in all the parties at mentary election on a Liberal second place at the Southend this time often fulfilled the ticket. Michie was the daugh- West by-election of 1959, which role of ‘keeping seats warm’ for ter of Lord John Bannerman, she retained at the general elec- husbands, or ‘inheriting’ them candidate at five parliamentary tion of the same year. Closest of upon the latter’s death or eleva- elections and near-victor of the all was Claire Brooks’s bid for tion to the Lords.4 At any rate, Inverness by-election of 1954, Skipton, which she contested Liberal women reaching the and as a young woman she had three times in the 1970s, losing Commons required not only been the ‘warm-up’ speaker by only 590 votes in October the usual determination and at public meetings during his 1974. skill of a parliamentary aspir- campaigns.6 These were isolated excep- ant, but also powerful political During the locust years of tions, however. Their very rar- contacts: both of Megan Lloyd female representation, there ity throws into sharp relief the George’s parents were active in were of course Liberal hopefuls failure of the party to integrate her support during the fierce who struggled hard and even women into its upper ranks as nomination contest for Angle- came close: Violet Bonham early as might have been wished. sey, her mother addressing Carter missed Colne Valley in Even when the party had some public meetings, and her father 1951 by over 2,000 votes despite Only six women MPs, very few oth- going as far as to tell some of the a straight fight with Labour and women ever ers were missing election by supporters of her rival Ellis W. a personal endorsement from small margins, and so women’s Roberts that ‘if E.W.R. behaves Churchill; Nancy Seear fought sat as Liberal places on the Liberal benches decently I will do my best to six contests between 1951 and had always been vulnerable. The help him to find a constitu- 1970, including Truro and MPs, and reasons for this can be assessed in ency to fight.’5 As the success of Rochdale, but never secured three broad ways: structural and Liberals of both sexes waned in as much as a fifth of the vote; they had organisational factors, the proc- subsequent years, such contacts and in the same two decades an unusual ess of candidate selection, and became no guarantee of promo- Manuela Sykes, who appeared issues particular to the Liberal tion to the Commons. in a 1955 party political profile. Party. Journal of Liberal History 62 Spring 2009 27 THE YEllow glAss CEiliNG: THE MYSTERY of THE disAppEARING liBERAL MPS Structural factors and since outright victory was Such evi- student wings of the party could Some accounts of women’s not a realistic prospect in most bring an aspirant to the attention under-representation focus upon constituencies, the threat to it dence as of the leadership, and Tommy the impact of political organi- must have been commensurately there is sug- Nudds, Secretary of the Liberal sations, and their tendency to peripheral as a consideration. Central Association, certainly favour male progress towards During the 1980s, increas- gests that regarded university Liberal Parliament. Liberal commenta- ing attention was drawn to the societies as a nursery for candi- tors in particular bemoan the role of internal party organisa- selection dates.13 The Liberals regularly effect of the first-past-the-post tions and sub-groups such as fielded more candidates in their electoral system in encourag- trade unions, clubs and youth commit- twenties than the main par- ing local associations to seek a and councillors’ wings, as well tees were ties, and in the general elections ‘safe’, unexceptional candidate as basic local party branches. of the 1950s, between 5 and 15 to fight a single-member con- It was through these, it was increasingly per cent of Liberal candidates stituency, so as to avoid the risk argued, that men developed net- were former or current officers of provoking doubt in the minds works of contacts allowing them aware of the of the party’s youth and student of any number of the elector- to hear of upcoming nomina- wings. At least six of the thirteen ate. This was the explanation in tions, establish a reputation and potential for MPs in the 1974–79 Parliament the Women’s Liberal Federation credibility with activists in the a female can- were former national Young Annual Report of 1983 for the selection process, and build up Liberal Executive Members or disappointing absence of women a CV likely to impress selection didate to add Presidents of their respective from the enlarged parliamentary meetings. ‘Women cannot rely’, university Liberal Clubs, and party, and PR was seen as the wrote Karen Hunt, ‘on the ‘old to the base others such as Malcolm Bruce solution in a joint Alliance policy school tie’ or brotherly sponsor- and Michael Meadowcroft later proposal of 1986.7 In 1987, Eliza- ship in the way that men now Liberal vote, rose in the same way. Any dif- beth Sidney, a former Women’s take for granted.’10 rather than ficulties women experienced Liberal Federation President This also seems less likely to joining or rising in these organi- who had fought the election, act as an explanation for Liberal jeopardise it. sations – by being a minority of argued afterwards that the sys- women’s under-representation undergraduates at the time, for tem ‘is unfair to smaller parties than for that of other parties, example – would have made and to ‘unusual’ candidates (such simply because these organi- future candidature for the Liber- as women) … so to get into Par- sations for most of this period als less likely. liament as an Alliance woman were too patchy and weak to This, however, must be set candidate was an achievement function as a career ladder for against the fact that one of the indeed.’ She went on to ask: future MPs.

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