‘The Victory of Ideals Must Be Organized’: Labour Party Women Organizers in the Inter-War Years

Abstract

This article examines the work of Labour Party women organizers and their activities at a regional level in the inter-war years. It looks at their role in building up the women's sections, in providing education and training and in taking part in electoral campaigning and asks to what extent their methods of organizing were gendered. It argues that the women organizers played an important part in persuading women in the home to become active in the Labour Party and that politics was relevant to their daily lives and would broaden their horizons as women.

Review of periodical literature published in 2010

“…Gender history yielded a host of articles, with the emphasis very much on the twentieth century. Two articles by Hannam and one by Thackeray show how women's involvement in political parties in the early twentieth century gave them a role outside the domestic sphere as well as an opportunity to develop a politics around issues that concerned them as citizens and consumers. On a related theme, Hunt explores women's engagement with the ‘politics of food’ during the First World War.…”

The Labour Party and the Impact of the 1918 Reform Act

“…Other organisers also had lengthy tenures: Lillian Fenn for 35 years, Gertrude Francis for 33 years, and Annie Townley for 23 years. 49 Before the 1918 general election, efforts were made to maximise the votes of women in all constituencies. After the election, these efforts were focused on the West Riding of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire, and the Black Country, as the areas which had proved to be the most promising.By mid 1919,one organiser was focused on Lancashire and Cheshire, the second in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and the third in the Home Counties.…”

“…29 Bain and Price, Profiles of UnionGrowth, 41,49, 65. 30 PHM, Labour Party Archive: report of the executive committee, June 1918-June 1919, Labour Party, 31 Report of the AnnualConference, 1918, 15.…”