Councillors to vote on award for suffragette

Mary Clarke became an organiser of Brighton’s Women’s Social and Political Union in 1909

A suffragette could be posthumously awarded the Freedom of the City, Brighton & Hove City Council has revealed.

Mary Clarke became an organiser of Brighton’s Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1909, which she co-founded with her sister Emmeline Pankhurst, calling for women’s right to vote.

She was also among 300 women who demonstrated outside parliament during what was now known as Black Friday.

A proposal to recognise Ms Clarke with the city’s highest honour will be voted on at a special council meeting on 14 December.

The honour is awarded to people who have rendered eminent service to the city, the council said.

'First woman martyr'

During her time in Brighton, Ms Clarke helped build the WSPU operation in the south-east of England and organised campaigns for the general election, regularly addressing crowds of supporters on the seafront.

During Black Friday on 18 November 1910, she was injured and later arrested and imprisoned for a month in HMP Holloway in London.

She died from a brain haemorrhage on Christmas Day in 1910, two days after her release from prison.

A memorial service was held in the Royal Pavilion, during which Emmeline Pankhurst described her sister as "the first woman martyr who has gone to death for this cause".

Council leader Bella Sankey said Ms Clarke “dedicated her life to campaigning for women’s right to vote, facing heckling, abuse and imprisonment with dignity and composure”.

“It’s because of women like her that women like me can enter politics and continue the fight for women’s rights,” she said.

“I want every girl and woman in our great city to know about Mary Clarke and what she did for us.”

A small ceremony to celebrate Ms Clarke’s legacy with her family members will be held on the same day as the vote.