Female MPs don suffragette sashes crafted by Welsh seamstresses for historic parliament photo-call

Emily Price

Female MPs have donned bespoke sashes handcrafted by a team of Welsh seamstresses in a tribute to the legacy of the women’s suffrage movement.

The sashes featured the iconic purple, white, and green colours of the suffragette campaign and were gifted to all 264 female members of parliament on Wednesday (July 2).

Each sash was uniquely embroidered with the recipient’s numerical position in the historical list of women elected to the parliament in Westminster.

The project coincides with the 97th anniversary of the Equal Franchise Act 1928, which granted women the right to vote on the same terms as men.

Hand Crafted

The sashes were carefully crafted from scratch by the sewing group ‘Re:Make’ based in Newport East.

The Welsh seamstresses travelled to London this morning to take part in a historic photo-call alongside female MPs to celebrate the ongoing contributions of women in politics and the arts.

The initiative was led by Centenary Action – a cross-party coalition established in 2018 to campaign for a gender-equal Parliament by 2028.

The organisation is fronted by Helen Pankhurst CBE, prominent women’s rights activist and descendant of suffragette leaders Emmeline and Sylvia Pankhurst.

She said: “This is the most women MPs we’ve ever had — a milestone worth recognising.

“But celebration alone isn’t enough. We need real, sustained action to ensure we reach a truly gender-equal Parliament by 2028, when we mark the centenary of equal franchise.”

During questions to the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, Keir Starmer thanked the Welsh volunteers for their hard work on the initiative.

He said: “Having 264 women MPs is really significant progress in this house.

“I’m incredibly proud that at the last election we saw 100 new female Labour MPs elected meaning the number of MPs in the Labour Party is now at a record high.

“And on the 97th anniversary of the Equal Franchise Act it should be a source of great pride to the house that we have a record number of female members.”

Proud

Newport East MP Jessica Morden added a personal touch to the project by assisting in crafting her own sash.

She said: “I was so proud today to see  these sashes, which have been crafted by a group of incredibly skilled  women at Re:Make in Newport East.

“Seeing the so many women MPs wearing their sashes together today was quite the moment.

“It is a testament to how far we’ve come since the Representation of the People Act of 1928, which gave women over the age of 21 the right to vote.”

Morden added: “The fact that we’ve stood together today in Westminster Hall really is a fitting tribute to all the suffragettes who fought and suffered to ensure that all women could have their say in how the country is run.

“The number 264 represents around 40% of the total Members of Parliament. This shows there is still much work to do to achieve a truly representative Parliament in which 50% of MPs are women.

“Thanks to the work of groups like Centenary Action, that goal will one day be realised.

“Thank you to Centenary Action for bringing this project together, and to the utterly brilliant Lucy, Penny and the others at Re:Make for working so hard with the sewing group volunteers to make all of these sashes from scratch.”