Member of City Council & political organising

38

Single

Greenbank House, Greenbank Lane, Liverpool.

NUWSS

Complies

Eleanor Florence Rathbone (1872-1946) was a committed suffragist, a dedicated feminist, and a pioneering social reformer. She dedicated her career to enhancing women’s rights. In addition to being the Honorary Secretary of the Liverpool branch of the NUWSS she was a member of the NUWSS Executive Committee. Eleanor did not support any extreme or illegal forms of protest. She routinely denounced and distanced herself from any extreme or violent acts carried out by the WSPU. She was born to William Rathbone VI and his second wife Emily Acheson Lyle. The Rathbones were a prominent Liverpool family, residing in Greenbank House in south Liverpool. The Rathbone family motto was ‘What ought to be done, can be done’, so from an early age a strong sense of civic duty and responsibility was instilled into Eleanor. She was expected to use her wealth, privilege, and influence to effect real social change. Eleanor’s father (a three term Liberal MP) supported women’s suffrage. He regularly attended local suffrage group meetings and supported John Stuart Mill’s attempt in 1866 to amend franchise legislation to include women. Eleanor studied Philosophy at Somerville College, Oxford, after leaving university she joined her local branch of the NUWSS and in 1897 was appointed Honorary Secretary of Liverpool NUWSS. As a suffragist Eleanor favoured peaceful and law-abiding methods of campaigning. She believed that the more militant and extreme acts carried out by the WSPU were counterproductive. She argued, to gain the vote, women needed to gain positions of power and influence at a local level. In 1909 Eleanor put her theory to the test, ran for public office and won. She was the first woman to be elected to Liverpool City Council. Eleanor’s first act in office was to secure a pledge from the council to publicly support the enfranchisement of women. The Census return for the Rathbone family home at Greenbank House, records Eleanor as single female living with her mother and number of domestic servants. Her full title in the Occupation column is difficult to read. However, it does mention her as a member of Liverpool City Council and her ‘political organising’. Eleanor’s approach to politics was the epitome of ‘doing things by the book’ so her compliance with the 1911 Census is not surprising. Eleanor served on Liverpool Council as an Independent Councillor for twenty-six years campaigning for better working conditions, child welfare reform, and the abolition of slum housing. Her career as suffrage campaigner included the negotiation of an important modification to the Representation of the People Act 1918. Eleanor’s amendment quadrupled the number of women eligible to vote at a local level. In 1919, Eleanor was appointed leader of National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship (formerly the NUWSS), under her leadership the organisation flourished and championed several female focused reforms. In 1929, she was elected to the House of Commons as an Independent MP, representing the Combined Universities seat. As an MP she set up a cross party committee to campaign for Refugee rights, coordinated the rescue of 4000 refugee children from the Basque region of Spain, and was an instrumental in the passing of the landmark Family Allowance Act. The latter is perhaps her greatest achievement as the payment still exists today in the form of Child Benefit. Sources: Susan Pederson, Eleanor Rathbone and the Politics of Conscience (2004); Krista Cowman, Mrs Brown is a Man and a Brother: Women in Merseyside's Political Organisations 1890-1920 (2004); Marij van Helmond, Mrs Brown is a Man and a Brother: Women in Merseyside's Political Organisations 1890-1920 (1992). Contributed by Jo Donnelly (The Herstorian Mum) www.theherstorianmum.co.uk