On Friday, February 20th, in the House of Commons, Mr.
Whiteley, the Labour member, introduced. his Bill to extend the vote to women over the age of twenty-one. Mr. Henderson offered to postpone the operation of the Bill until the next General Election, and proposed that in the meantime there should be a Conference, presided over by the Speaker, to draw up a redistribution scheme. The Home Secretary admitted all the existing illogicalities, but argued quite reasonably that a Franchise Bill ought-to be a Government measure. If the Bill -were passed the Opposition would probably, after all, demand a General Election as being customary after a Reform Bill. The best way would be to have a Conference at the end of the present session and then bring in a Bill to deal with all electoral anomalies. He stood by the Prime Minister's pledge that at the next General Election there should be no difference between the electoral ages of the men and women.. The fact that Sir William Joynson-Hicks did not say what the age should be has, given vitality to the rumour that the age for men will be raised to twenty-five. But this would be. impracticable. No Government could take back a -franchise which has been granted without producing a • cataclysm. • - *
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