This KS3 Citizenship quiz follows on from our previous two quizzes about government. On 4 June 1913, Emily Davison tried to stop the King's racehorse at the Epsom Derby. There was not enough time for the jockey to avoid hitting her and she died a few days later from her injuries. She did this in order to raise awareness of the suffragette movement.
The word suffragette comes from suffrage which means 'the right to vote'. Women were banned from voting in elections by the Great Reform Act of 1832. By the end of the century, women had set up groups to campaign for the right to vote. These were not very effective.
Then, in 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst formed The Women's Social and Political Union.
They realised that they needed to be militant to be taken seriously and carried out public order offences like setting fire to post-boxes and places where wealthy men met, smashing windows, chaining themselves to railings and detonating bombs. Many of them were sent to prison. In 1918, certain women over the age of 30 were granted the right to vote and in 1928, women were finally granted the same rights as men to vote.
A Parliament can last any length of time up to a maximum of five years. Parliament is officially dissolved 25 days before the general election to elect a new government. During this time, the political parties campaign for votes. They issue a manifesto which sets out their promises for what they will do if they are voted in. Members and supporters of each party canvass the public to persuade them to vote for their party. They often wear rosettes to show which party they support, for example, the Labour Party wear red ones, the Conservatives blue and the Liberal Democrats have orange rosettes.