Women's Suffrage

The Isle of Man was the first place in the world where women could vote in a national election. However, no Women’s Suffrage Bill as such was ever brought before Tynwald.  Giving women the right to vote was instead debated as part of wider reforms to elections in the Isle of Man—and it was achieved through the removal of a single word from a Bill.

Unlike in the United Kingdom, there was no mass campaigning of the sort organised by the suffragettes. Instead, it appears to have been largely the work and initiative of individuals such as Richard Sherwood MHK, who worked to secure votes for women in the 19th century, and William Crennell MHK, whose efforts achieved universal adult suffrage in the early 20th century. These men were, however, undoubtedly supported in their mission by women and other allies, whose names and deeds have sadly not been recorded.

Giving women householders the vote in 1881 was the first in a long line of extensions to the franchise, all of which can be summarised by the principle of ‘no taxation without representation. In 2021 Tynwald President The Hon. Steve Rodan MLC said "I am proud to have made my own contribution to the development of the Isle of Man’s democracy when I successfully moved an amendment to the Registration of Electors Bill 2006. This lowered the voting age to 16 years old, making us the first country in western Europe to do so. The ability to influence government-introduced legislation in this way is a great strength of our consensus democracy and parliamentary system."

The early enfranchisement of women in the Isle of Man has unfortunately not translated directly into parliamentary representation. Until the General Election in 2016 and the Legislative Council election in 2018, there had only been 12 women Members of Tynwald in total.

Click the links on the sections below to read more about Women's Suffrage in the Isle of Man.

Votes for Women!

In 1881, Tynwald became the first national parliament to give women the vote in a general election. In 1919, with the introduction of universal adult suffrage based on residency, women were able to stand for election.

House of Keys Election Act 1866

The franchise was given to all males aged twenty-one and over who owned property worth at least £8 or rented property for at least £12 a year.

Candidates had to be male, of ‘full age’, with real estate of the annual value of £100, or of £50 together with a personal estate producing an annual income of £100.

House of Keys Election Act 1881

Extended the franchise to all males, spinsters and widows over 21 who owned or, in the case of the former, occupied real estate of a net annual value of not less than £4.

The property qualification for candidates was modified to allow the alternative of personal property producing a yearly income of £150.

House of Keys Election Act 1892

Extended the franchise to spinsters and widows occupying real estate of a net annual value of not less than £4 (and to male lodgers who were sole tenants of lodgings with a yearly value (unfurnished) of £10 or more). The first election after this extension of the franchise was in 1897.

Property qualification for candidates removed.

House of Keys Election (Amendment) Act 1903

Introduced a residence qualification in addition to the property qualification and reduced time between elections from 7 to 5 years.

House of Keys Election Act 1919

Introduction of universal adult suffrage on the basis of a residence qualification. The property qualification was unaffected and continued to provide for extensive plural voting until its abolition in 1969.

With the introduction of universal adult suffrage, the entire electorate, with the exception of clergy and holders of office of profit, became eligible to stand for election to the House of Keys.

​The Story - Votes for Women in the Isle of Man by Dr Mike Hoy

by Dr Mike Hoy 

On 31 January 1881 women in the Isle of Man who owned property in their own right were given the vote. A record of the House of Keys debate which led to the new legislation was published in Robert Fargher’s radical Mona’s Herald,and this press report gives the impression that extending the vote to women was an afterthought casually inserted into the bill. But what really happened was very different.

In the summer of 1880 Lydia Becker, leader of the suffragette movement in Manchester, visited the Island and addressed five public meetings. She awakened in her audiences, mainly made up of women, a quiet determination to secure the franchise, and when the Keys addressed issues of franchise reform on 5 November 1880 the desire for change had taken hold across the Island.

The reformist lead in the debate was taken by Richard Sherwood, MHK for Glenfaba, who adopted a deliberately low key approach to catch any opposition unprepared. He simply argued that the word ‘male’ should be removed from the proposed legislation, since ‘as a principle of justice, taxation and representation should go together’, and he reinforced his case by naming a number of ladies well-known to members who were, he contended, far more deserving of enfranchisement than many male householders.

Sherwood proposed not only the enfranchisement of women, but also that they should be eligible for election to the House of Keys. When the vote was called the Keys carried the historic proposition by 16 to 3, and success seemed assured, but the reform was too radical for Governor Loch. He was unwilling to set Tynwald at odds with Westminster, and his Council forced an amendment which restricted the vote to spinsters and widows who owned property in their own right.

The Isle of Man Times angrily denounced this interference by ‘a collection of paid Crown officials’, but with a general election pending Sherwood and his supporters reluctantly accepted it, while insisting that the Keys’ advocacy of the principle of absolute parity of male and female suffrage should be recorded.

YouTube link to ​The Story of Votes for Women in the Isle of Man by Dr Mike Hoy
https://youtu.be/rx4Ghp35cwY

The First Women Voters in a General Election in the Isle of Man

On 22nd March 1881, the first women cast their votes in an election to choose their representatives in the House of Keys. The 1881 General Election took place over several days between 22nd March and 30th March. Elections were scheduled to take place in the constituencies of Castletown and Ayre on 22nd March 1881. There was only one candidate in Castletown, Mr Jeffcott, who was returned unopposed.  The first election in which some women had the opportunity to vote was held in the constituency of Ayre. Votes could be cast at four different polling stations: the Parochial Schoolhouse in Andreas, the Parochial Schoolhouse in Bride, the Parochial Schoolhouse in Lezayre, and a booth near the Railway Station in Ramsey.  The first women to vote at each of these polling stations were:

  • Esther Kee voted at Andreas. She lived at Leodest in Andreas and was described as a property owner.
  • Catherine Callow of Ballakilley voted at Bride. She is described as a widow in the poll book.
  • Eliza Jane Goldsmith of Ramsey voted at the railway station booth. Her occupation was not recorded in the poll book.
  • Margaret Kelvin of Sulby voted as Lezayre Parochial Schoolhouse. Her occupation is recorded as a dressmaker. 

The time at which each vote was cast was not recorded, so it is not possible to say which of these women was the very first woman to vote. Esther Kee, Catherine Callow and Eliza Jane Goldsmith were the first in line at each of their polling stations, while Margaret Kelvin was the fourth person to vote at Lezayre Schoolhouse. 

Resources

Education Pack - 1881-2021: 140 Years of Women's Right to Vote in the Isle of Man

This education pack ​was produced to mark the 140th anniversary of the first elections to the House of Keys in which some women could vote. 

Education Pack - Women's Suffrage in the Isle of Man

The education pack was produced to support the visit of the Suffragette Flag to the Isle of Man in September 2018.  It contains an overview of the history of suffrage in the Isle of Man, as well as information on women's roles in politics in the Isle of Man. 

Debates

House of Keys Election Act 1881 - Women householders given the vote

House of Keys Election Act 1892 - Women leaseholders given the vote

House of Keys Election Act 1919 - Universal adult suffrage

Representation of the People (Franchise) Act 1971 - Voting age lowered from 21 to 18

Registration of Electors Act 2006 - Voting age lowered from 18 to 16

Reports

Figures

Lydia Becker

Clare Christian OBE

William Taubman Crennell

Harriet Curphey

Sophia Goulden

Betty Hanson

John Allen Mylrea

Richard Sherwood

Marion Shimmin

Infographics and Images

1918-2018: Celebrating Votes for Women in the United Kingdom

​Further Reading

  • Robert Fyson, The Struggle for Manx Democracy (Culture Vannin: 2016)
  • David G. Kermode, Offshore Island Politics: The Constitutional and Political Development of the Isle of Man in the Twentieth Century (Liverpool University Press: 2001)

Acknowledgements

All newspaper extracts appear courtesy of the iMuseum: https://www.imuseum.im/newspapers/

The iMuseum Newspapers & Publications website can be used for free at the Henry Bloom Noble Library or Manx National Heritage Library and Archives.

Special thanks to Jude Dicken for her kind assistance

Perspective from an MLC

For International Women's Day 2023, we asked Kerry Sharpe MLC to write about her experiences as a parliamentarian:

Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Dame Eleanor Laing told me that women come into politics because they feel passionate about a certain issue. Rarely do they arrive in politics as career politicians.

That was certainly true in my case. I’d been writing a book about the 150 year history of the Douglas children’s home. When it came to light that abuse had occurred in the home, certain people in authority tried to block my continuing with the book. I was indignant that people who wanted me to tell their stories were having their voices silenced – so I spoke out.

Shortly after that, I was asked to stand in the 2018 Legislative Council Election. There were five vacancies and all five seats were taken by women candidates, myself included. For the first time, there were more elected women Members in Legislative Council than men and when Legislative Council sat together with the President, Bishop and Attorney General, we were fifty-fifty.

Those who worked in the Tynwald Office and those who were Members of Tynwald commented on how the atmosphere of our Parliament changed overnight. Someone said it was like the windows had been thrown open and fresh air let in.

Undoubtedly the election results satisfied some of the recommendations which had just been made by Lord Lisvane who had highlighted the lack of diversity in Tynwald.

One of the questions I frequently get asked is: do women politicians bring anything different to Tynwald? I think they do bring a different perspective. It’s often acknowledged that women still take on the majority of responsibilities concerning care for children, elderly parents and vulnerable people in the community. This brings us into direct contact – as users - with services such as schools, hospitals, social security and local government. In general, we also tend to work more collaboratively and I think there is probably more engagement now between the Legislative Council and the House of Keys than in the past.

Tynwald still needs to increase its diversity because the more diverse perspectives you can bring to bear on a problem, the better your solutions will be. The increase in women Members of Legislative Council had a ripple effect. Far more women stood in the last General Election for the House of Keys and I am proud to say that Tynwald, as a whole, is now approximately half men and half women Members. I hope that now the public can see a different face of Tynwald, more people from under-represented groups of our community will consider standing for election.

Kerry Sharpe MLC
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