Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that if they gain power, Labour will pardon all suffragettes who were convicted or jailed while fighting for women’s right to vote.
Corbyn made the announcement as Amber Rudd claimed that the issue was “complicated”, resisting pressure on pardoning them.
The labour leader said the women in question were “treated appallingly by society and the state” and their convictions were “politically motivated”.
“Some were severely mistreated and force-fed in prison post-conviction, so a pardon could mean something to their families,” he added.
The conversation has re-emerged as we arrive at the 100 year anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, giving women over 30 and “of property” the right to vote.
The occasion is being marked across the country and Theresa May will be delivering a speech in Manchester later today about the “heroism” of the woman involved.
This is not the first time Corbyn has called for suffragettes to be pardoned, which took place in 2004. This was, however, rejected by the Blair government who said it could only be possible if new evidence suggested the conviction was unsafe or if the crime had since ceased to exist.
Speaking today, the Labour leader said: “As a country, we must recognise and honour the enormous contribution and sacrifice made by women who campaigned for the right to vote.
“Many of those women were treated appallingly by society and the state. Convictions of Suffragettes were politically motivated and bore no relation to the acts committed.
“Some were severely mistreated and force-fed in prison post-conviction so a pardon could mean something to their families.
“Labour in government will both pardon the suffragettes and give an official apology for the miscarriages of justice and wider persecution they suffered.”
To mark the 100-year anniversary, the Prime Minister is holding a reception for past and present female MPs in Parliament.