Millicent Fawcett (1847-1929) and the NUWSS

Following the death of Lydia Becker in 1890 the women's suffrage movement lacked the national cohesion and co-ordination that her understated yet effective direction had given it. Divsions between groups began to develop and there was no one to fill the void. in 1895 with a general election looming a loose alliance was formed between the two main London groups and some of the provincial organisations (Nationalarchives.go.uk, 2014). From here the seed for the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies or NUWSS was formed and in 1897 Millicent Fawcett brought together all of the existing women's rights and suffrage societies under this umbrella.

Millicent Fawcett (1847-1929)

Born in 1847 the daughter of wealthy parents and one of ten children (including Elizabeth Garrett Anderson later to become the first female doctor to qualify in the UK), Millicent was well educated and encouraged to take an interest in the social and political events of the day. This was further encouraged by her sisters when she would visit them in London and she soon became directly involved. She met several radical politicians including Liberal MP Henry Fawcett, whom she was to marry in 1867(Simkin, 2014). The following year she joined the London Suffrage Committee, directly joining the campaign that incredibly would occupy much of her time for over 50 years. She was a founding member of the NUWSS and was elected its president in 1907, a post she maintained until 1919.

The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)


Established in 1897 the NUWSS leadership included women from diverse political and social backgrounds with one common goal - to secure the vote for women. Born out of a series of women's movements it began as a federation of several large local societies, acting primarily as a liaison and co-ordinator with no-power over it's members with a  broadly democratic constitution. From a start of just 17 member societies it developed to having over 50,000 members and 500 affiliated societies (Bl.uk, 2014). In contrast to WSPU they campaigned to peaceful and lawful means, creating petitions, lobbying parliament and individuals and raising public awareness with rallies and literature.
After women had been granted the vote in 1918 the organisation remained active and began to campaign for equal pay for women and a reform of divorce laws and many other women's rights issues.