November 28th

On this day – November 28^th 1919 – Lady Astor elected member of Parliament

In December 1918 Constance Markievicz was elected as the first woman to sit in Parliament in the house of Commons, but she did not take the seat in the spirit of Sinn Fèin policy. It was the next year in 1919 Lady Astor (Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor) took her seat in the house of Commons as the first woman in Parliament history. Lady Astor served as a representative for the conservative party and held her seat until 1945 where she was persuaded to step down. Lady Astor had not been connected to the woman's suffrage movement and Markievicz critiqued her as being "of the upper class, out of touch". Her stance against alcohol consumption made her campaign harder and the lack of knowledge about local issues made it worse. The appeal of Astor's campaign became her earlier work with Canadian soldiers, her charitable work, her financial resources and her ability to improvise. She became known for her wit and her ability to turn the tables on any heckler. 

There are several quotes that are attributed to her and this is some of our favourites:  

"I married beneath me. All woman do" 

"We women talk too much, but even then we don't tell half what we know."

"The only thing I like about rich people is their money."