The Men’s Political Union for Women’s Enfranchisement

The Men’s Political Union for Women’s Enfranchisement (MPU) was a British political society formed in London on 13 January 1910 to provide men with an organized way to support the campaign for women’s voting rights. It emerged within the wider British women’s suffrage movement, particularly in sympathy with the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), whose membership was restricted to women. The MPU offered an affiliated but distinct channel through which male supporters could participate in the movement, regardless of their other political views, provided that they accepted the principle that women should receive the same voting rights as men. The organization was founded at the Eustace Miles Restaurant in London, with Victor Duval serving as founder and honorary organizing secretary. It developed branches in different parts of the United Kingdom and became one of the more militant male-support organizations associated with the suffrage movement. Its work extended beyond public advocacy. As WSPU campaigners increasingly faced hostile crowds, police intervention, arrest, and physical assault, MPU members sometimes acted as unofficial bodyguards. They attempted to protect women speakers and demonstrators, a role that exposed them to violence, arrest, and imprisonment. Some imprisoned members also joined hunger strikes in solidarity with the suffrage cause. The MPU participated in public meetings, demonstrations, confrontations with politicians, and efforts to defend suffrage speakers. In July 1910 it joined the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage at a Hyde Park meeting supporting the Conciliation Bill, a proposed parliamentary measure intended to extend the franchise to some women. In October of the same year, MPU secretary Victor Duval was arrested after confronting David Lloyd George at the City Temple and criticizing his opposition to the Women’s Bill. George Jacobs was also imprisoned for objecting to the treatment Duval received from police. The society was especially visible during the events surrounding the rejection of the first Conciliation Bill in November 1910. During a march toward the House of Commons, Captain Charles Melvill Gonne intervened when police were forcibly arresting a woman. His arrest was photographed and the image was subsequently used in suffrage publicity. The episode reflected the MPU’s characteristic combination of male physical intervention, public protest, and willingness to accept arrest in support of women campaigners. By 1913, the scale of some MPU meetings was reportedly sufficient to attract police attempts to break them up. In 1914, the organization created a Suffrage Speakers Defence Corps to help protect WSPU speakers from assault and arrest. Its activities could include dramatic acts of symbolic protest, such as an incident at a Limehouse meeting when an MPU member climbed a pillar and displayed a suffragette flag above two Cabinet ministers. The MPU was not a commercial brand or business enterprise. It functioned as a political society and support organization during a period when the British suffrage campaign was divided between constitutional lobbying and militant direct action. The available record documents its formation, activities, officeholders, and relationship with other suffrage groups, but does not establish a precise date of dissolution, a complete membership register, or a later institutional successor. Its historical significance lies in demonstrating that some male activists participated directly in the militant struggle for women’s enfranchisement rather than merely offering private or parliamentary support.

The Men’s Political Union for Women’s Enfranchisement was created in London on 13 January 1910 at the Eustace Miles Restaurant. Its formation addressed a specific organizational gap in the militant suffrage movement: men who supported the Women’s Social and Political Union could not join that organization because it admitted women members. The MPU therefore provided a separate structure for male supporters of equal voting rights. Victor Duval was the organization’s founder and honorary organizing secretary. The MPU accepted members on the basis of their support for women receiving the same right to vote as men, without requiring uniformity on other political questions. It established branches across the United Kingdom and became associated with the more confrontational wing of the suffrage movement. Historians have characterized it as one of the most militant male support groups active in the campaign. The organization’s activities combined political advocacy with direct physical assistance to women campaigners. WSPU speakers and demonstrators were increasingly exposed to hostile crowds, police action, assault, and imprisonment. MPU members sometimes acted as unofficial bodyguards, placing themselves between campaigners and attackers or intervening during arrests. This work could result in injury and imprisonment, and imprisoned MPU supporters participated in hunger strikes connected with the suffrage cause. The surviving account also records activity before and around the society’s first year. On 17 July 1909, members sought redress for women who had been prevented from attending meetings and were themselves assaulted. After the MPU’s formal establishment, it joined the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage for a Hyde Park meeting on 17 July 1910 supporting the Conciliation Bill. The bill represented an important parliamentary focus for suffrage organizations seeking an initial extension of voting rights to women. The MPU’s secretary, Victor Duval, was arrested on 17 October 1910 after confronting David Lloyd George as he entered the City Temple. Duval seized Lloyd George’s coat and criticized him for opposing the Women’s Bill. George Jacobs was also imprisoned for protesting what he regarded as police mistreatment of Duval. These incidents illustrate the MPU’s willingness to turn political disagreement into highly visible personal confrontation. The most publicized episode came on 18 November 1910, when approximately 300 suffragettes marched to the House of Commons after the first Conciliation Bill had been rejected. Captain Charles Melvill Gonne, a 48-year-old MPU member, intervened when police were forcibly arresting a woman and told them that they could arrest him but not her. A photograph showing Gonne being held by both arms was published in the Daily Mirror and later adapted into a suffragist propaganda postcard. The image helped associate the MPU with physical solidarity and public sacrifice. By 1913, MPU meetings had become sufficiently large that their disruption by police was discussed in Parliament. In 1914, the organization formalized its protective role by creating a Suffrage Speakers Defence Corps. The corps was intended to guard WSPU speakers against assault and arrest. The MPU was also involved in symbolic acts of disruption: at a Limehouse meeting, one member climbed a pillar to display a suffragette flag above the heads of two Cabinet ministers. The available sources do not provide a definite dissolution date, a complete account of its later wartime activities, or evidence of a continuing organization after the main period of militant suffrage agitation. Its historical record is consequently best understood as that of a short-lived or poorly documented political society rather than a continuing corporate entity. The MPU’s importance rests on its role in mobilizing male allies, defending women activists, and participating directly in the contentious public politics that preceded British women’s enfranchisement.

• 1914

  Suffrage Speakers Defence Corps formed

  [1]The Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisementen.wikipedia.org

  The MPU established a corps intended to protect WSPU speakers from assault and police arrest.

• 1910

  Foundation of the MPU

  [1]The Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisementen.wikipedia.org

  The society was founded in London on 13 January at the Eustace Miles Restaurant to organize men supporting women’s equal voting rights.

• 1910

  Joint Conciliation Bill meeting

  [1]The Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisementen.wikipedia.org

  The MPU and the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage held a joint meeting at Hyde Park in support of the Conciliation Bill.

• 1910

  Duval arrested at City Temple

  [1]The Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisementen.wikipedia.org

  Secretary Victor Duval was arrested after confronting David Lloyd George over opposition to the Women’s Bill.

• 1910

  Gonne intervenes during House of Commons march

  [1]The Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisementen.wikipedia.org

  Captain Charles Melvill Gonne was arrested after intervening to protect a woman during the 18 November suffrage protest.

A militant male-support organization within the British women’s suffrage movement, positioned as an avenue for men who supported equal voting rights but could not join the women-only WSPU.

• 1914Suffrage Speakers Defence Corps

  United Kingdom

  The MPU organized a dedicated defence corps to safeguard WSPU speakers during public appearances.

  Outcome. The source records the corps’ creation but does not provide a complete assessment of its later operations.

  Source
• 1910Conciliation Bill support campaign

  United Kingdom

  The MPU joined the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage in a Hyde Park meeting supporting the Conciliation Bill, linking male-organized advocacy with parliamentary efforts to extend the franchise to women.

  Outcome. The first Conciliation Bill was rejected, contributing to further militant protest later in 1910.

  Source
• 1910Protection of suffrage demonstrators

  United Kingdom

  MPU members acted as unofficial bodyguards during suffrage campaigning, attempting to protect WSPU members from assault and forceful arrest.

  Outcome. Members faced violence, arrest, and imprisonment while supporting the demonstrations.

  Source

• 1914

  Formalize speaker protectionStrategy

  Background

  WSPU speakers faced public assaults and police arrest during increasingly confrontational suffrage campaigning.

  Action taken

  The MPU created a Suffrage Speakers Defence Corps.

  Aftermath

  The decision formalized the MPU’s existing role as a protective male auxiliary to militant suffrage campaigning.

  Source

1. 1The Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisementen.wikipedia.org