Is Pankhurst finally heading for Parliament?

As the 100th anniversary approaches next year of women getting the vote for the first time, ministers are planning to honour one of the suffragettes who made it all possible.

the Cabinet Office is considering a towering new bronze statue of emmeline Pankhurst, widely acknowledged as one of the most important British women of the 20th century.

Award-winning sculptor Angela Conner, whose past statues have included the Queen and Churchill, has been commissioned to deliver a 12ft sculpture on a stone plinth on Canning Green, in full view of Parliament.

Pankhurst would stand between the statues of Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in 1865, and George Canning, who was briefly PM in 1827.

Conner has made a preliminary model called a maquette (above), and says: ‘there is a sense of commanding strength in the posture. her figure is pushing against the wind undeflected in the journey to her final goal: votes for women.’

Baroness Boothroyd, the first woman speaker, and former PM David Cameron, have lent their support for a statue of Pankhurst, who led marches to Parliament in her fight to get women the vote and was arrested several times during her campaign.

her sacrifices helped change Britain for ever with the passing of the Representation of the People Act (1918) which gave women over 30 the vote.

Pankhurst died in 1928, aged 69, a month before all women over 21 were given the vote — which gave them parity with men.

Andrea Leadsom, Leader of the Commons, backs the plan Westminster Council is looking at. she tells me: ‘the achievements of the suffragettes continue to inspire us. they are the reason I, and hundreds of other women, sit in Parliament, and why millions of young women are able to achieve their ambitions. ‘the magnificent bronze statues in Parliament square depict important figures in history, but all, currently, represent men. I’m looking forward to a time when millions of London’s visitors can admire statues of women who changed history, too.’ sir Neil thorne, the former tory MP and a key figure in the £2 million memorial in hyde Park honouring Commonwealth troops who fought in the world wars, is spearheading the plan.

he says: ‘Pankhurst is the foremost figure and symbol of the protest movement for women’s equality and suffrage. the centenary celebrations should provide a fitting tribute to this remarkable woman.’ Quite right, too.