It’s time we celebrated the women who have shaped our country. Let’s start with a statue of Mary Wollstonecraft – one of the great pioneers of women’s equality.
The overriding bias of statues and memorials towards men in our country is shocking. It is time to redress the balance and honour the millions of women who have transformed Britain for the better.
Incredibly, there are no statues to the outstanding writer and women’s rights campaigner, Mary Wollstonecraft, despite her inspiration to women and men who followed her.
I paid tribute to Mary in my first conference speech as leader of the Labour Party and I strongly support the call to have her life and groundbreaking work marked with a statue on Newington Green.
A statue in parliament would also be a fitting tribute to celebrate the commitment and sacrifice of Emily Wilding Davison who gave her life for women’s suffrage in Britain and left a deep impact on our politics and country.
It is time to right the balance with a clear plan to honour the extraordinary women who have transformed our lives and changed our history. Statues to commemorate Mary Wollstonecraft and Emily Wilding Davidson would be an important first step.
