British Conservative Women MPs and ‘Women’s Issues’ 1950-1979 Katie Haessly, BA MA Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2010 1 Abstract In the period 1950-1979, there were significant changes in legislation relating to women’s issues, specifically employment, marital and guardianship and abortion rights. This thesis explores the impact of Conservative female MPs on these changes as well as the changing roles of women within the party. In addition there is a discussion of the relationships between Conservative women and their colleagues which provides insights into the changes in gender roles which were occurring at this time. Following the introduction the next four chapters focus on the women themselves and the changes in the above mentioned women’s issues during the mid-twentieth century and the impact Conservative women MPs had on them. The changing Conservative attitudes are considered in the context of the wider changes in women’s roles in society in the period. Chapter six explores the relationship between women and men of the Conservative Parliamentary Party, as well as men’s impact on the selected women’s issues. These relationships were crucial to enhancing women’s roles within the party, as it is widely recognised that women would not have been able to attain high positions or affect the issues as they did without help from male colleagues. Finally, the female Labour MPs in the alteration of women’s issues is discussed in Chapter seven. Labour women’s relationships both with their party and with Conservative women are also examined. 2 This thesis concludes by linking Conservative female MPs’ impact upon women’s issues, their relationships both within and outside of their party, and the effect these had on the ability of women to fully participate in Parliament. In bringing these together, it will be shown that the impact Conservative female MPs had on the various pieces of legislation was of importance and that these women’s hard work allowed them to gain more recognition within the party and society. 3 Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without help from a wide range of people, all of whom were unfaltering in their support. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Chris Wrigley, for his advice, support, guidance and patience throughout the course of my studies. I would also like to thank Professor Liz Harvey for her insight and assistance on many of my chapters. I am thankful to the School of History for granting me a scholarship, which lessened the financial burden of this undertaking greatly. I am also appreciative of being given the opportunity to teach during my studies. Not only has this been an enjoyable experience, but I’ve learned a great deal through teaching in the past two years. I am also grateful for the help offered by Andrew Riley at the Churchill Archives in Cambridge and Colin Harris and Jeremy McIlwaine at the Bodleian Library for their assistance in accessing and decoding letters and other papers. Thank you also to Sheridan Westlake, with the Conservative Party, for allowing me access to Conservative Party archival documents. For lending me his ear on more than one occasion, I thank Dr Daniel Barnes, who was always there to remind me how to be a superb manager. I am also grateful to all of my friends for providing necessary distractions and, most of all, for just being themselves. Thank you also to School of History postgraduate community, especially those with whom I have shared an office in Lenton Grove, for being friends, colleagues and most of all entertaining. 4 A big thanks to my family – immediate, extended, those who I have known all my life, and those who I have gotten to know along the way – whose support has also been invaluable. I particularly thank my mom, Laural Haessly, as her belief that I could finish this thesis has been a reassurance throughout. Finally, to my fiancé, Alex Dickenson, I am especially thankful. That he has been with me every step of the way and has provided encouragement and a voice of reason has been helpful in more ways than I could ever coherently express. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements .................................................................. 4 1 – Introduction ................................................................... 7 Literature Review ........................................................ 26 2 – Women and the Conservative Party .............................. 36 3 – Employment ................................................................. 64 Equal Pay in the Civil Service ..................................... 66 Equal Pay Act 1970 ................................................... 94 4 – Family ........................................................................ 108 Guardianship .......................................................... 111 Matrimonial and Divorce Law Reform ........................ 121 Fatal Accidents Acts ................................................ 143 5 – Personal ..................................................................... 151 History of Abortion Law ........................................... 152 Abortion Act 1967 ................................................... 155 National Health Insurance (Family Planning) Act 1967 .............................. 175 Proposed Amendments to the Abortion Act 1967 ........................................... 178 6 – Conservative Men: Relationships and Impact .................................... 192 7 – Female Labour MPs and ‘Women’s Issues’ .......................................... 219 8 – Conclusion .................................................................. 251 9 – Bibliography ............................................................... 266 6 1 – Introduction Women in the British Conservative Party between 1950 and 1979 may have been few in number, however, a closer look at the female MPs’ work on specific topics shows that they were able and willing to partake in debates and had a real impact on the passage of certain legislation. Their passion and interest not only means that their low numbers are an inaccurate measure of female MPs’ importance, but it also caused their participation in Parliament to increase greatly when topics in which they were interested were being debated. Their participation varied by issue, as would be expected, and as such three specific areas have been chosen for this study – employment (including equal pay), family (including divorce and guardianship) and personal (including abortion and contraception) – all of which were of interest to various Conservative women, and all of which affected women’s rights within society. The years 1950-1979 have been chosen as the focus of this study due to the many political, societal and economic changes experienced during this time. By looking at the evolution of these issues over a 29-year period, an assessment will be made as to the influence that Conservative women had within Parliament and how, despite their low numbers, Conservative female MPs took an active role and ensure that their views were heard. The discussion will follow the work of female Conservative MPs through the Parliamentary process, with specific focus placed on their participation in debates and committees. Utilising a variety of primary and secondary sources to gauge this, the participation and 7 impact of women will be discussed in order to determine Conservative women’s importance in changes in legislation during the mid-twentieth century. These subjects will be approached from an historical, instead of a socio-political perspective, which allows for further analysis of the potential reasons and ramifications for the passage of certain laws and participation of Conservative women. While social policy plays a role in this analysis, adopting this perspective would have changed the shape of this study and as such a variety of social policy texts were taken into consideration in its preparation. Women’s extra-Parliamentary endeavours in organisations such as the WNAC and other groups formed specifically to aid specific causes will also be explored in order to gauge how their participation in these organisations affected not only their work in Parliament, but the wider questions themselves. Although the climate of the time (both politically and socially) was often not friendly to the idea of female advancement in politics, there were many women who were able to overcome this to become MPs and while in that position took it upon themselves to advocate changes in key aspects of women’s lives. The intention is therefore to explore the impact Conservative women MPs had on legislation regarding women’s issues in addition to women’s changing roles within the party. The importance of studying this period in this way can be attributed to several factors. The first is that Conservative women have largely been neglected by historians who have written about women in politics during this time. The majority of the sources 8 about women in politics focus on the Labour Party and the women, which at the time had a greater number of women than did the Conservatives, giving the indication that it was the number of women which dictated importance and Parliamentary influence. In addition to this, the topics chosen are not necessarily those associated with the Conservative Party. The combination of these factors necessitate the