I, Allison arrive for my date with Oscar
Allison Janney, nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of ice skater Tonya Harding’s mother in the film I, Tonya, was resplendent in red as she arrived for last night’s Academy Awards ceremony
Nicola Harley
Francesca Marshall
BRITAIN’S first female MPS should be honoured with blue plaques before they are “erased from history”, the Fawcett Society has said.
An investigation by The Daily Telegraph has shown that out of the country’s first 50 female MPS, only six have blue plaques commemorating them.
Even in London, where English Heritage runs the scheme, only 13 per cent of the plaques remember women.
The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality, said this disparity is leading to important women being “erased from history”, adding that it was “very disappointing” to see just a handful of female MPS being commemorated. “Who we commemorate says a lot about who and what we value in our society,” Sam Smethers, its chief executive, said.
“The fact that less than three per cent of statues are of women means we have erased so many important women from our history.
“In this centenary year of first votes for women we should ensure that half of all blue plaques celebrate the great women in our history. We should be honouring the groundbreaking women MPS who were the trailblazers for women in Parliament today.
“To commemorate just one in 10 is very disappointing.”
Sarah Cobham, who set up a group called The Forgotten Women of Wakefield to campaign for a blue plaque for Alice Bacon, Yorkshire’s first female MP, added that “all these important women should have plaques”.
During her 25 years as an MP from 1945 Ms Bacon served as a deputy Home Office minister, overseeing reforms including decriminalising homosexuality, legalising abortion and abolishing the death penalty.
“We looked into getting a blue plaque and found that out of 54 in the city only four were for women. I thought it was disgraceful ... the balance has to change,” said Ms Cobham.
“The tide has turned and it’s up to women as well as men to work together to recognise women from the past. Their voices should not be lost.”
Ms Cobham is hoping their initiative will be replicated by other groups across the country.
“Until starting this project I had no idea how unrepresented women were,” she added. “This needs to be addressed across the country and all these important women should have plaques to acknowledge the impact they have had on our lives.”
Nancy Astor, the first female Tory MP to take her seat in 1919, is one of the few to have a plaque in London, while Margaret Bondfield, the Labour MP and first female cabinet minister, has one in her home town of Chard. Bessie Braddock, the Labour MP, has a statue and a plaque in Liverpool.
But many famous names are missing, including the first female Britishborn MP, Margaret Wintringham, from Keighley, W Yorks, who campaigned for equal pay and rights for women.
Anna Eavis, curatorial director at English Heritage and secretary of the English Heritage Blue Plaques Panel, said: “We’re working hard to improve the representation of women on the London blue plaques scheme ... We’re calling on people to get in touch and tell us what notable women they think deserve a plaque.”