Black Friday (1910)

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Black Friday was an event on 18 November 1910 when approximately 300 suffragettes campaigned outside the British House of Commons when the Liberal government of Herbert Asquith failed to pass a Conciliation Bill which would allow some women to vote in General Elections for the first time.

Although the Bill got to its second reading, Herbert Asquith indicated that there would be no more Parliamentary time for the Bill. In response, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) sent a delegation of around 300 women who were assaulted when they attempted to run past the police. Many suffragettes reported being assaulted and manhandled by the police and well over 100 were arrested. The event caused some embarrassment to Winston Churchill who was Home Secretary at the time.

[edit] The aftermath of Black Friday

After Black Friday, Asquith stated that if the Liberals were elected at the next general election, they would include a Suffrage Bill that could be amended to allow women to vote. The WSPU rejected this believing that it was an attempt to delay reform. The events of Black Friday were damaging to the suffrage campaign as they caused MPs to distance themselves from the campaign.