Outburst in the Ladies' Gallery

From the early 20th century the peaceful suffragists were joined in the Ladies' Gallery by the militant suffragettes, and the grilles became a target for militant agitation. On 25 April 1906, one of the earliest suffragette protests in Parliament took place in the Ladies' Gallery, during a motion on women's suffrage moved by Keir Hardie MP.

A female reporter present wrote that the leaders of the Women's Social & Political Union, including Annie Kenney and Sylvia Pankhurst, were 'sitting in the front row with their faces tightly pressed to the hated grille', and many others were also present including working women from the East End of London. The protest erupted with shouts of 'Votes for Women', women beat their hands against the grille, and a flag was fluttered from the Gallery before the space was cleared and closed.