Ellen Wilkinson
Jack Lawson (5th from left) and Ellen Wilkinson (2nd from left) with Durham county MPs and George Lansbury (far left)
Parliamentary Archives, PIC/P/328
Ellen Wilkinson, MP for Middlesborough East (1924-1931) and Jarrow (1935-1947) was an active spokesperson for women's interests and issues, speaking passionately in favour of an equal franchise and equal pay. During her long Parliamentary career she became Minister for Education, making her the second woman to achieve a position in the British cabinet. This section of the case study explores her life and career in Parliament.
What was Ellen Wilkinson's early life like? How did her background influence her later political career?
When did Ellen Wilkinson get elected to Parliament?
How did Ellen Wilkinson become involved in politics?
What issues did Ellen Wilkinson speak out about in Parliament?
What was the Jarrow Crusade? How was Ellen Wilkinson involved?
Ellen Wilkinson lost her seat at Parliament in 1931. What did she do when not in power?
What was the later part of Ellen Wilkinson's life and Parliamentary career like?
When was Wilkinson re-elected to Parliament? What did she achieve in her later career?