Irene Ward

Irene Ward (1895-1980) was Conservative MP for Wallsend 1931-1945 and Tynemouth 1950-1974. She campaigned for women's rights and fought hard for equal pay, raising the issue many times in the House of Commons. She supported Jean Winder, the first woman Hansard reporter, in her fight for equal pay, even raising Winder's case during a speech in the Commons in 1951. She presented the petition with 80,000 signatures for equal pay in the public service to Parliament in 1954. She was made a life peer in 1975, as Baroness Ward of North Tyneside. For her speech in 1951, see: https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1951/aug/02/equal-pay