To mark the 80th anniversary this week of women getting the vote, local MP Lynne Featherstone evoked suffragette spirit in a call for greater representation of women in Parliament.

Lynne Featherstone joined a protest outside Parliament organised by the Electoral Reform Society featuring protesters dressed in 1920s outfits.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“When I see the row after row of white male faces on the benches in Parliament it really makes me want to chain myself to something. I resist the urge, but do all that I can to encourage women and people from different backgrounds to come forward and play their part in making decisions.

“All parties need to do more on this. It simply cannot be another 80 years before we see real parity in the numbers of women in Parliament. It’s not about feminism, just plain old equality.”

Note: On July 2nd 1928 the Representation of the People Act 1928 was passed. This Act expanded on the legislation of the same name of a decade earlier, widening suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men.Women and men were now able to vote from the age of 21. Prior to this only women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications could vote in general elections.