The Battle of Downing Street was a march of suffragettes to

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk f ...

, London, on 22 November 1910. Organized by Emmeline Pankhurst's

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

, the march took place four days after Black Friday, a suffragette protest outside the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

that saw the women violently attacked by police.

Prime Minister's statement

Taking place in the context of the debate over the Conciliation Bill 1910 (giving a limited number of women the vote according to property and marital status), the march was a direct response to a statement by the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith that: "The Government will, if they are still in power, give facilities in the next Parliament for effectively proceeding with a Bill which is framed so as to admit of free amendment", which suggested that the bill would have no chance of being passed. Emmeline and

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed its militant actions from exil ...

were at Caxton Hall when news arrived of Asquith's speech; Christabel announced to the audience that it was a declaration of war: "The promise for next parliament is an absurd mockery of a pledge. They have been talking of declarations of war. We also declare war from this moment." Emmeline told the crowd: "I am going to Downing Street. Come along, all of you."

March on Downing Street

Around 200 women marched on Downing Street, smashing windows at the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

and Home Office, and on Asquith's car; Emmeline Pankhurst and her sister, Mary Clarke, were arrested, along with another 157 women and three men. Clarke was arrested for throwing a stone through the window at Canon Row Police Station, where Pankhurst was being held, after the police refused to let Clarke see her. About 20 women approached 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's residence, from the back and swarmed around

Augustine Birrell Augustine Birrell KC (19 January 185020 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for exte ...

, the Chief Secretary for Ireland. He said they "pulled me about and hustled me, 'stroked' my face ndknocked off my hat". In trying to get away, he was left with a twisted knee and slipped kneecap. Birrell did not seek a prosecution; he wrote to the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, on 21 February 1911: " t the matter drop but keep your eye on the hags in question.", citing A. Birrell to W. S. Churchill, Irish Office, Old Queen Street, 21 February 1911; .

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Prime Minister's statement

March on Downing Street

See also

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Further reading