Who?

Women’s Social and Political Union. (W.S.P.U)

National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. (N.U.W.S.S)

Leader?

Emmeline Pankhurst, and her daughters, Christabel and Sylvia.

Milicent Fawcett.

What?

This was a breakaway movement formed in 1903 by the Pankhursts who were frustrated by the lack of progress achieved by the N.U.W.S.S.

This was founded in 1897 to unite most of the existing suffrage societies that had sprung up over the nineteenth century. Some cities had many of these, and the aim of the groups was to extend women’s political rights.

Tactics

Militant, violent and confrontational, often illegal and involving public disorder.

Moderate, peaceful persuasion and constitutional.

Aims

To achieve the same political rights for women as there were for men.

Although they seemed less active than the W.S.P.U., the N.U.W.S.S. were active in trying to convert public opinion.  Unlike the Suffragettes, Suffragists welcomed male members in an effort to convince more men to their point of view.

Methods

• "Deeds, not words!"

• Restricted members of W.S.P.U. to women only

• 1905 Christabel Pankhurst sent to prison for spitting and hitting a policeman at a Liberal meeting.

• Their favourite and most effective method was to use megaphones to heckle speakers at liberal meetings.

• peaceful, e.g. reasoned argument, meetings, issuing leaflets and collecting petitions.
• Met with politicians to argue their case.
• In elections they supported candidates who were in favour of female suffrage.
• They trained women to speak at public meetings.
• in the 1906 elections they put forward male candidates to compete with Liberal politicians who were opposed to female suffrage.