Anti-suffragist arguments may inform us about true objections to electoral reform today.
Opponents of PR will claim that it will cause chaos in the UK, despite its use in 130 countries worldwide, many of which have greater levels of satisfaction with governance, social services and the economy. While some may further argue that many of these countries have histories and cultures incomparable to Britain’s, they include our former colonies, namely Australia and New Zealand.
We already have it
While it was feared that women were too uninformed to vote in general elections, some women had been given the right to vote in local elections since 1869. As this right was reaffirmed and extended in 1895, over a million women were registered to vote in English local elections by 1900.
Similar to the debate around electoral reform, opponents of PR for Westminster elections also discount its use in local and devolved elections in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Greater London. Given when it was implemented, there are Britons with at least two decades’ experience of voting under PR.
Parallels with today
To a modern audience, the objections of the anti-suffrage campaign seem outlandish. Many of them at the time overlooked the fact that women’s suffrage was already a reality outside of Westminster.