Cat and Mouse Act

The Cat and Mouse Act was introduced due to the hunger strikes carried out by Emmeline and Christabel's suffragettes. Imprisoned women would refuse to eat, aiming to embarrass the government and create attention for women's rights.

The suffragettes were successful, especially in embarrassing the government, so as a result, the women were force-fed. This was an action usually only taken in lunatic asylums and hence was very controversial. Although it prevented death within the prison which would be even worse for the government, it did not help their image, reflecting poor control of their people.

This is where the Cat and Mouse Act comes into play. The government resolved the issue in 1913 through relatively simple logic: When a suffragette was arrested and went on hunger strike, the government stopped force-feeding them and rather left them to become ill and weak, a state in which they were not able to harm the public. They would then be released 'on license' so they didn't die in the prison and create political drama. The period of time the women received out of prison was included in their sentence and then they would be re-arrested to finish their sentence, whereby it was likely they would again go on hunger strike and so the 'Cat and Mouse' scenario moves in circles.

The idea of being released assumed that the suffragette would begin to eat again and regain strength. With this new strength, they would be put back into the prison, making life easier on the government. 

The name 'Cat and Mouse Act' was brought about due to a cat's tendency to play with its prey before it is killed.

It is arguable as to whether the Cat and Mouse Act was actually effective in preventing suffragette actions against the government, however at the time it did "save" the government's reputation. Violent acts by the movement did not actually cease until 1914 when World War One broke out.      

Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)

In October 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union in Manchester. The Independent Labour party (ILP) was the main suffrage movement however, Pankhurst believed that they were not very committed to women's rights, using limited actions. As a result, from the very beginning, the WSPU created the motto, 'deeds not words', which they aimed to live by.

Although the WSPU did not start out as a militant movement, they later became one, arguably, due to the government. In 1906, the liberal Party came to power which brought hopes of women's rights as liberalism literally means 'a political philosophy focussed on equality'. However, political reform did not come about, making the suffragettes angry and causing controversial acts. The women thought the more militant and hard their actions were - for example, going to prison rather than paying a fine - the more headlines they would get for their cause, which was most important to the movement. Emmeline's daughter, Christabel wrote, 'This was the beginning of a campaign the like of which was never known in England, or for that matter in any other country...we interrupted a great many meetings...and were violently thrown out and insulted. Often we were painfully bruised and hurt.' These radical actions were so different to those of any other suffragettes at the time who were merely polite and gentle. The WSPU believed they had to force the government to give them what they wanted otherwise it would never happen.

It was argued that the WSPU were only focussed on political rights rather than equality on all levels. For example, women were still payed less than men in the exact same job and were generally considered a minority under men regardless of their political rights such as being able to vote. For this reason, many were against the WSPU.

The WSPU were often in a level of danger as the police manhandled them frequently when they interrupted meetings and often misused their powers. Commoners and thugs who didn't agree with the group would try to set them as outcasts, often interrupting their meetings and trying to stop the movement.  

The actions of the WSPU before the war can be categorised into three separate phases:

1. 1905-1918: publicity seen as 'good' and the only major acts were disrupting political meetings.
2. 1908-1913: Threats to public order, although kept to a minimum. This included smashing windows and chaining railings. The aim here was to embarrass the government through hunger strikes in prison, etc.
3. 1913-1914: Attacks on properties of significance such as churches and Westminster Abbey.

A Timeline of Emmeline Pankhurst's Life

I started researching about Emmeline Pankhurst this week and the extraordinary life she led. I thought I'd put a timeline together to provide a brief biography of her life.

14th July, 1858 - Emmeline Pankhurst was born in England. Her father was heavily involved in politics, as was her mother who took her along to suffrage meetings.
1879 - Emmeline married Richard Pankhurst to whom she later had three daughters with. Richard was Emmeline's main source of support as he too was passionate about women's rights.  
1st January, 1889 - Women's Franchise League was established, an organisation founded by Emmeline and her husband.
1st January, 1894 - The right for married women to vote! This was a big step which is said to have 'truly changed the world'. However, they could only vote in elections for local offices and not in the House of Commons.
1898 - Richard Pankhurst died.
16th March, 1903 - Women's social and Political Union was established, which was later changed to simply, 'The Women's Party' in 1917. From this point, the suffrage movement attracted more widespread attention.
1905 - Emmeline's daughter Christabel as well as Annie Kenney were arrested and taken to jail as a result of being thrown out of a liberal election for demanding women's rights and then technically assaulting police (threatening them) and not paying their fines. Emmeline became a supporter of the 'jail' idea, encouraging members of the suffragette movement to attract attention and make a more dominant stand by being arrested for a  worthwhile cause.
1908-09 - Emmeline Pankhurst is jailed three times.
1912 - The WSPU becomes militant in their actions. This included arson attacks, window smashing and hunger strikes. Emmeline is arrested and released 12 times during the year.
1913 - The Cat and Mouse, or Prisoner's, Act meant that prisoner's who were on hunger-strike could be freed and then reimprisoned without it affecting the duration of their sentence.
1914 - World war I begins so Emmeline calls off the suffragette campaign in order to help the war effort. 
February 1918 - Representation of People Act is passed, giving the right to vote to women over 30.
14th June, 1928 - Emmeline Pankhurst died at the age of 69, having achieved what she desired most- the right for women to vote.