Trudy Harrison MP is commemorating the 100-year anniversary of women’s right to vote by encouraging women to share their inspiring stories on social media using the hashtag #IVote
Today Trudy is marking the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, passed on 6 February 1918, giving some women the right to vote in the UK for the first time.
Mrs Harrison is celebrating her right to vote, 100 years on from women first getting the right, and called on women across Copeland to join her for the anniversary by posting pictures of them saying ‘I vote’.
Today, celebrations to mark the centenary are taking place across the UK, including the Vote 100 programme which will see a wide range of events and activities commemorating the women and men who fought to achieve electoral equality.
Mrs Harrison, said: “It is incredibly important that today and always we remember the sacrifice women gave in their fight to change the law, providing some women with the right to vote 100 years ago today – it took a further ten years before all women were finally granted the right to vote.”
Recent research by the Electoral Commission research has found that three quarters of women say they always vote at general elections, while two in three women were motivated to vote by civic responsibility at the 2017 Parliamentary general election.
Research also found that women were four times more likely than men to say that ‘people fought to win them the right to vote’ as a motivation for casting their ballot.
Mrs Harrison, added: “We have made huge progress in advancing women’s rights, but there is still a long way to go. There should be no barriers to any woman exercising her right to vote.”
To get involved in the campaign, download the VOsign from the Electoral Commission’s website, print it off, capture your picture and then share your photos on social media with the hashtag #Vote100.
Visit www.yourvotematters.co.uk/get-involved/centenary-of-womens-suffrage for more information