This film is part of Free
Scenes outside the House of Commons
The fight for women's suffrage momentarily falters on a gloomy day in January 1913.
Overview
The mood must have been as bleak as the weather on 27 January 1913, a gloomy day for supporters of women's suffrage. The hopes of these placard-bearing women had been dashed after the Franchise and Registration Bill was withdrawn in the House of Commons. Had it been amended, as the women expected, it would have been a significant step towards enfranchisement.
These newsreel scenes show the policemen swarming the streets of Westminster prepared to quash violent protests. As it happened, according to a contemporary Guardian newspaper report: "women showed no sign of an organised attack, and after a time the crowd became weary of waiting for something and melted away".
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