31. Breaking the Glass Chamber: Welcome from Rushanara Ali MP and Keynote Lecture by Prof Laura Beers
- Author:
- Lyndsey Jenkins, Rushnara Ali, and Laura Beers
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- 2022 marked a series of historic anniversaries for women in British politics. Forty years since the election of Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House; thirty-five years since the election of the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott; thirty years since the first woman, Betty Boothroyd, was elected Speaker of the House; and twenty-five years since the election of more than a hundred women MPs for the Labour Party. At its landmark Breaking the Glass Chamber conference from 15 to 17 September 2022, the Mile End Institute brought together historians, political scientists, and sociologists to explore what politics meant to and for women in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins from @qmulschoolofhistory4447 welcomes delegates, invites @RushanaraAliMP (MP for Bethnal Green and Bow since 2010) to open the conference, before Professor Laura Beers @AUAdmissions delivers a keynote lecture entitled 'Women Politicians or Women's Politics?' In her opening remarks, Rushanara Ali reflects on the Queen's example, the obstacles faced by women in public life, and the East End of London's long tradition of women campaigning, trade unionism, and suffrage activism. Professor Beers reflects on the politics of recent Conservative Prime Ministers, Theresa May and Liz Truss, before returning to the early twentieth century to explore how prominent women in Parliament campaigned and governed. She also asks whether women's political representation necessarily advances women's political interests and, conversely, whether there are times when women's interests are better served by male representatives.
- Topic:
- Elections, Women, Domestic Politics, and Representation
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe