A PLAQUE to celebrate Malvern suffragette Elsie Howey has been unveiled on the anniversary of women first being given the same right to vote as men in elections.
West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin carried out the unveiling after being invited to do so by the Malvern Civic Society.
It market the efforts of the clergyman’s daughter who was imprisoned six times for campaigning for votes for women.
Dozens of residents attended the ceremony in Upper Welland at the house where the suffragette lived until she died in 1963.
Ms Baldwin said: “I am only the 341st woman to become a Member of Parliament but each day I am thankful for the efforts of campaigners who fought and sometimes gave their lives to bring equality to our country.
“I was honoured to be invited to unveil this plaque to mark the life of Elsie Howie and it was especially poignant to do this on the anniversary of the Equal Franchise Act which gave women the right to vote on the same basis as men.
“It was lovely to see so many people turn out to mark this occasion – especially all the young girls and local people who remember Elsie – and I hope that telling these stories will inspire more women to come forward to stand.”
She added she strongly believed Parliament would be better with many more female MPs and she pleged to keep working to bring about a House of Commons which had equal numbers of men and women.
