Published Article

HeadlineSadiq Khan reveals 56 names to appear on new suffrage Parliament Square plinth

Short HeadlineKhan reveals names for suffrage plinth

Standfirst

The names of the 56 people who were instrumental in fighting for women’s suffrage will be etched on the plinth of a new statue of Millicent Fawcett, the first monument to a woman to stand in Parliament Square.

Well-known suffragettes such as Emmeline Pankhurst and unsung heroes including working class speaker Minnie Baldock are among the individuals commemorated in the plinth of the bronze statue.

The statue was designed by Turner Prize-winning artist, Gillian Wearing.

Life-sized cut-outs of the 56 campaigners stand in Trafalgar Square, as part of the one-day Make A Stand campaign.

Today a one-day exhibition entitled Make A Stand featuring life-sized images of the 56 campaigners stands in Trafalgar Square with rallying slogans such as “deeds not words”.

Trafalgar Square was the site of many important speeches and rallies in the years-long fight for women’s suffrage

It forms part of the Mayor’s year-long#BehindEveryGreatCity campaign  to mark the centenary of the Representation of the People’s Act 1918, which won the first British women the right to vote.

The Mayor said that “6 February marks an important moment in the history of our city: 100 years since the 1918 Representation of the People Act was passed which gave the women the right to vote.”