While the General Election campaign for 2017 has been short it has definitely been eventful. The polls have changed dramatically and more people have flocked to political rallies than they have for years according to some sources. We are proud to say that DMU has hosted 3 events — Be the Change, Be the Change 2 and Be the Change 3 which took place on Tuesday — to promote political debate and exchange and to raise awareness about the importance of voting itself.
So, on this final day of decision-making, June 8th, which also happens to be the 104th anniversary of the death of Emily Wilding Davison, the fearless suffragette who was continuously arrested and eventually killed when she stepped in front of King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby in her final act of campaigning for Equal Voting Rights, we thought we would share some material to remind us that we should never take our vote for granted or let the media and polls with their predictions of successes or failure stifle our will to vote.
The following images are taken from a collection that belonged to Romola Christopherson which relate to the 50th anniversary celebrations of equal voting rights that took place in 1978.
Katie Russell, writing for The Guardian today asks us to think about about why and what women still need to vote for today, and while I completely agree that we need to focus on the future, it is still important to remember the feminist gains of the suffragettes and the 2nd wave feminist movement of the 1970s – you never know their stories might be inspirational!
Whatever your views make your voice heard and vote!!!