Published on 19th November 2024
As well as being 50 years since the creation of the modern district council, 2024 marks the 130th anniversary of a woman’s right to stand for election to their district council.
This was the Victorian version of local government at the time. The Local Government Act passed through parliament in 1894, in the midst of the women’s suffrage movement made famous by heroines such as Millicent Fawcett, Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters, and many others.
Cllr Rowena Hay, council leader, said: “All those years ago women fought at great personal cost for the right to take part in the democratic process.
“This anniversary reminds us of the fantastic achievements made by female councillors over the last 130 years as well as the debt we have to those trail-blazing women, who came before us.
“There is more work to do to ensure gender equality, diversity and inclusion at all levels of society, celebrating this anniversary and the progress we have made so far is important.”
