Hi Dr Turner, thanks for doing an AMA!

As far as I know, the common argument against women's suffrage tended to be that the man voted for the whole household. Was there ever any notion that widows or (perhaps less likely) adult but unmarried women were unfairly excluded? What was the role of single women in the movement?

Hello Dr Turner and thanks for doing an AMA.

How did the English liberals and those influenced by ideas of people like Adam Smith, David Ricardo react to the demands of woman suffrage? Or did the support come only from Socialist movement like that of Chartists?

How much of the material you're working with, particularly in the 19th century, was originally public, and how much is from letters, diaries, etc?

I ask because my own work in food history in that era relies almost completely on women's private notebooks, commonplace books, and the like, rather than materials intended for public consumption, and the difference in tone and intent from public conduct can be striking.

Hello!

Did these new female MPs face a lot of sexism when they first started?

One more! Was there concern that by being politically involved these women were endangering their marriage?

Hey there! Can you introduce and detail some of the struggles early female MPs went through for someone like myself who isn't too knowledgeable about womens suffrage?

Thanks for doing this and crossposting to /r/UKPolitics, Two questions:

How much did the allegations of the use of the term D-Day Dodgers hurt Lady Astor's political career and reputation?

Not sure if it's your area, but how much were women involved within British fascist movements like the BUF?

Hi Dr. Turner.

How would you describe the class background of early female MPs? How did that stack up against the general class background of the male MPs?

Today when we form Select Committees, they are typically elected by the Committee of Selection, which can add expertise to a Select Committe or just as likely keep them off of one, if the party whips wish it. The shape of Parliament may have morphed and changed a lot since women first entered Parliament and the Select Committee is a more recent addition to the structure of Parliament, however, some form of committee must have existed when women first took to the floor, and with that some form of membership selection. There had to be some variety of precursor. How was the access of women to any precursor committees dealt with, where there any particular areas they were intentionally given access to, and areas they were deprived of access? If possible, what were the given reasons for this? I mainly ask because the appointment of select committee membership has a powerful effect which the public often does not see on the direction that investigations against the government take and the way policy is developed, it sets the agenda. The place for the man behind the curtain to stand, as he whispers to you gently "please, do not heavily investigate this issue". I want to know how women were incorporated into this process.

Finally, after centuries of dealing with only male MPs, how did party whips adjust to suddenly having to find ways to leverage women in Commons to vote with the party line? What was the relationship between early women MPs and their respective party whips? The whip is something of a dirty job in politics, and can be the source of either much strife or much success, so there must be some stories there. Incidentally, any stories which you think are worth sharing regarding the first female party whips? How did they carrying out of the role differ from their male counterparts? Was there any refusal to co-operate on the discriminatory grounds of men not wanting to take orders from a woman?

That ended up being a fair few questions, however, I hope you can educate me here. I am woefully uninformed about early women MPs.

Great AMA so far! My question is, did female voters tend to vote more heavily in favour of female candidates for parliament? What about men?

Particularly present in the EU referendum was a urban/rural divide with urban areas more likely to support and rural more likely to oppose continued membership. Was there any such divide (either urban/rural or geographical) in terms of constituencies of early female MPs, or support for them?

I watched a talk recently where Lady Hale and Justice Ginsburg discussed various aspects of judging. One of the most interesting things was about the changing rooms and toilets in the court that were set only for men. How did early female MPs deal with an environment set up for men, and the social exclusion that resulted?

Hi Dr. Turner!

Will Countess Markievicz feature at all, as the first woman ever elected to the House of Commons? She never took her seat, but has a pretty big footprint, particularly in Ireland!

Hi Dr Turner,

Constance Markievicz was the female first MP elected in Ireland but as an Irish nationalist. Did her election have any effect. What type of press coverage and publicity did it get.