Millicent Fawcett to be first woman statue in Parliament Square

[Pat Mustard]

So, this is pretty cool.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39471407

The suffragist Dame Millicent Fawcett is to be the first woman to be honoured with a statue in Parliament Square, the prime minister has announced.

The equal rights campaigner who dedicated her life to getting the women's vote, will stand alongside Sir Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela.

Theresa May said Dame Millicent "continues to inspire the battle against the injustices of today".
All 11 statues in the central London square are currently men.

The new statue will be funded using the £5m fund announced in this year's spring Budget to celebrate next year's centenary of the first British women to get the vote.

Millicent Fawcett formed the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies in 1897.

The organisation used peaceful tactics to campaign, including non-violent demonstrations, petitions and the lobbying of MPs. Born out of the suffragist movement came the suffragettes - the more radical and militant group led by Emmeline Pankhurst.

Dame Millicent died in 1929, a year after women were granted the vote on equal terms to men.

Should have put up Constance Gore-Booth.