How did women win the vote?
The nutshell
For a long time, women in the UK could not vote in general elections. A law in 1918 gave the vote to some women, and a law in 1928 gave women the vote on the same terms as men.
Every fact on this page comes from UK Parliament and the House of Commons Library. Each source tag, like Parl, opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
Who could vote long ago
Long ago, most people in the UK could not vote in general elections. Women could not vote for MPs at all. Before 1918, about two in five men could not vote either.HoC
Years of campaigning
For many years, women and men campaigned to change the law. Some campaigned in peaceful ways, such as holding meetings, signing petitions and going on marches. In 1903 a group led by Emmeline Pankhurst formed the Women's Social and Political Union. Its members, known assuffragettes, used direct action, such as breaking the law. Many were sent to prison and went on hunger strike.Parl
The 1918 law
In 1918 Parliament passed the Representation of the People Act. It gave the vote to women over 30 who met a property rule — a rule about owning or renting a home. It also gave the vote to all men over 21.Parl About 8.4 million women could vote for the first time.HoC
Equal at last, in 1928
The 1918 law still left women with fewer voting rights than men. In 1928 the Equal Franchise Act changed that. From then on, women could vote on the same terms as men, both from the age of 21.Parl By the 1929 general election, women made up most of the people who could vote.HoC
- Women paid taxes and obeyed the same laws, so women should have a say in making those laws.
- Other countries had already given women the vote, so the change was possible.
- Women took on many jobs during the First World War, which many saw as strengthening the case.
- Some argued at the time that politics was not a suitable place for women.
- Some said the law-breaking by militant campaigners had gone too far.
- Some warned that adding millions of new voters at once was too big a step.
The deep end6 min
Two laws, ten years apart
Women in the UK won the vote in two stages, not one. The Representation of the People Act 1918 gave the vote to women over 30 who met a property qualification, and at the same time gave the vote to all men over 21.Parl The House of Commons Library records that about 8.4 million women gained the vote in 1918, and that before the Act around two in five men still could not vote either.HoC
The 1918 Act did not make voting equal. Women under 30, and many women over 30 without the right property, still could not vote. Full equality came with the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928. According to the House of Commons Library, that Act let about 5.2 million more women register, and from the 1929 general election everyone over 21 could vote, with women forming the majority of the electorate.HoC
Two kinds of campaign
The campaign for votes for women is often split into two groups. Suffragistscampaigned by peaceful means, such as petitions, meetings and marches. Suffragettesused direct action. UK Parliament records that in 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union, whose members broke the law to draw attention to the cause, and that many were imprisoned and went on hunger strike.Parl
What is still debated
Historians do not fully agree on what mattered most in winning the vote. The part played by peaceful campaigning, by militant protest, and by the work women did during the First World War is still discussed. This page sets out what the law did and when, and leaves the question of what mattered most to the reader.