The Coupon Election discussed

[per ardua per mare per terram]

The Coupon Election was discussed on BBC Radio4: Woman's Hour. The discussion was littered with inacuracies such as Bonar Law was Prime Minister in 1918.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2008_50_thu.shtml

[per ardua per mare per terram]

The programme claimed that 5 million women gained the vote as a result of the 1918 Act, but I haven't been able to verify that. Can any pals help?

[Jim Clay]

per ardua...

The link states that 8.5 million women were enfranchised. A look at the stats from the 1921 census shows the female over 30 population of England & Wales as approx 9.5 million - see http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/t...37&show=ALL

Jim

[per ardua per mare per terram]

Thanks Jim, sorry, I missed out the 8. doh!

I understood that before 1918 only about 7 million men had had the vote, so that was a major step forward.

Edited 16 December , 2008 by per ardua per mare per terram

[Alan Tucker]

Thanks Jim, I understood that before 1918 only about 7 million men had had the vote, so that was a major step forward.

Pre-1918 you have to take into account how many men met the franchise qualfications and how many met them but failed to actually register and so lost the right. This particularly affected the working class vote.

[per ardua per mare per terram]

I think that you over estimate the number of men who met the franchise provisions. For example the vote was for the house holder, so sons living at home could not vote.