{"id":623,"date":"2019-12-19T16:53:41","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T16:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/astor100\/?p=623"},"modified":"2019-12-19T16:57:49","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T16:57:49","slug":"celebrating-100-years-of-women-in-parliament-28-november-2019-what-a-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/astor100\/celebrating-100-years-of-women-in-parliament-28-november-2019-what-a-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating 100 Years of Women in Parliament – 28 November 2019 – What a day!"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 28 November 1919, Nancy Astor was elected to Parliament, becoming the first female MP to take her seat. A century on, a train named in her honour took VIP passengers to Nancy’s former Plymouth constituency where a new statue was unveiled. Here we tell the story of the day’s events in tweets and audio clips from the historic journey.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The election of Nancy Astor changed British democracy for ever. For the first time, a woman who was able to directly influence the parliamentary debate and the writing of the laws of her own land – a responsibility Nancy willingly shouldered for all women.<\/p>\n

Her courage and resilience in standing alone for almost two years in a hostile House established a platform on which women continue to build today. Nancy’s arrival in Parliament ushered in a new type of politician, a public woman, a new perspective and a reminder that there was a female electorate who increasingly demanded that their voice be heard.<\/p>\n

Reading historian Dr Jacqui Turner has spent the past four years curating and leading #Astor100<\/a> – a major series of academic and public engagements taking place during 2019 and on into 2020. The programme is underpinned with an online exhibition<\/a> of Nancy’s political career and legacy using materials from the Astor archive which is held within the University of Reading’s special collections<\/a>. #Astor100 goes beyond Nancy Astor to be a wider celebration of what Nancy represented and the avenues she pioneered for women who followed.<\/p>\n

The anniversary celebrations began in the early hours of the morning of 28 November, with the naming of a new Great Western Railway train in Nancy’s honour at London Paddington.<\/p>\n

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And we were on board with @Jacqui1918<\/a>, @MelanieKhuddro<\/a>, and @UniRdg_Research<\/a>, on the way to unveil the @ladyastorstatue<\/a> for #Astor100<\/a> \u2764\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/lqOiiuV6ZV<\/a><\/p>\n

— Uni of Reading (@UniofReading) November 28, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n