Beyond the ballot: women's rights and suffrage from 1866

women get the vote cartoonThe centenary of the Representation of the People Act takes place on 6 February. This was the change in the law that gave (some) women the right to vote in Westminster elections for the first time.

You can explore the campaign for women’s right to vote, and its impact on women’s rights and equality to the present day, in a free online course. Launched by Royal Holloway, University of London, with the UK Parliament, the course features records from The National Archives collections.

The course covers the legal, social and economic frameworks that limited women’s rights prior to the vote and the pioneering women who were campaigning for change.

Find out more and book your place

Royal assent to the 1918 act can be seen in Gazette issue 30516.