Marion Phillips (29 October 1881 – 23 January 1932) was an Australian-born British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1929 to 1931.

Early life and education

Marion Phillips was born on 29 October 1881 in St Kilda, a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria, in colonial Australia. Her parents were Philip David Phillips, Jewish Australian lawyer, and Rose Asher, who was from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She was educated at the

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne (PLC), is an independent, private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1875 at East Melbourne, PLC was on ...

and

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, graduating in 1903. In 1904, she began a research scholarship at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, graduating as a

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

in 1907, with a thesis about the development of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Between 1906 and 1910, she worked under the direction of

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociology, sociologist, economist, feminism, feminist and reformism (historical), social reformer. She was among the founders of the Lo ...

on a commission investigating the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

Career

A member of the

Women's Labour League The Women's Labour League (WLL) was a pressure organisation, founded in London in 1906, to promote the political representation of women in parliament and local bodies. The idea was first suggested by Mary Macpherson, a linguist and journalist wh ...

from 1908, she became its secretary in 1912. She also edited the League's leaflet, which by 1913 became Labour Woman. When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out she became a member of the War Emergency Workers' National Committee. In 1916, Phillips was present at the formation of the

Standing Joint Committee of Industrial Women's Organisations The National Joint Committee of Working Women's Organisations was an organisation representing women active in the labour movement in the United Kingdom. The organisation was founded in 1916 by the National Federation of Women Workers, Women's Co-o ...

. Phillips was its secretary between 1917 and 1932. Phillips also served on a number of government committees before a woman had been elected to the country's parliament. The most significant were the

Consumer Council The Consumer Council is an independent statutory authority in Hong Kong, established in 1974 and formalised in April 1977 under the Consumer Council Ordinance (Cap. 216). Its role is to enhance consumer welfare and empower consumers to prote ...

of the Ministry of Food and the Women's Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Reconstruction. Unlike prominent suffragettes, her vision was not concentrated upon extending the franchise, she wanted state interventions in the free market to be better informed by considerations of life outside the workplace. As a leader of the Women's Labour League, she described its role as "keeping the Labour Party well informed of the needs of women and providing women with the means of becoming educated in political matters". In this endeavour she provoked about a quarter of a million housewives to take part in the labour movement and helped popularise issues such as equality for women in the workplace, school meals, clinics and playspaces for children, the fundamental value of mothering, a more humanitarian, safety-conscious, approach to the design of homes for ordinary families, and an eradication of needless drudgery and squalour from home life. Together with

Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a priv ...

, Phillips "worked tirelessly within the WLL to raise the political consciousness of women and encourage their participation." It has been noted of Phillips and Bondfield that "although there was some tension between the two at the start, they eventually worked in harmony and shared an essentially social class based approach to women's emancipation and both were later Labour MPs together in 1929 (Bondfield having briefly been an MP in 1924)." Speaking on the need for adequate bathing and washing facilities in new housing projects, Phillips remarked: "If Labour councillors will not support us on this demand, we shall have to cry a halt on all municipal housing until we have replaced all Labour men by Labour women". Addressing women in

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

, she emphasised, "There is still a lot of educating to do and we are going to begin by educating ourselves". As Chief Woman Officer of the Labour Party, she reportedly gave women extra confidence to engage in politics, and by 1925, the Women's Section was firmly established. At the 1929 general election, Phillips was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. The 1929 'flapper election' was the first in which women under the age of 30 were eligible to vote. In July 1928, Phillips wrote to all women in the Sunderland constituency, stating that 'FOR WOMEN ESPECIALLY, THIS NEXT ELECTION WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE IN 1929 IS VERY IMPORTANT'. She lost the 1931 election, and in 1932 died of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

, aged 50. Phillips was the first Jewish, and thus first non-Christian woman MP. Nonetheless, she was also an atheist. In September 2019, a plaque was unveiled at 18 Foyle Street, the site of the Sunderland Labour Party's former Committee Rooms. It reads "Sunderland's first woman MP had an office here 1929-1931. Activist and academic, she lobbied for the rights of woman and working people. The Labour Party's Chief Woman Officer (1918-1932)".

References

Sources

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20050130200035/http://www.ialhi.org/gender/lhasc-phillips.doc * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Marion 1881 births 1932 deaths Jewish Australian politicians Jewish British politicians Australian people of English-Jewish descent Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1929–1931 Alumni of the London School of Economics People educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne Deaths from stomach cancer in England Australian emigrants to England Australian people of New Zealand descent 20th-century Australian scientists 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century British women politicians Australian atheists British atheists Jewish atheists Jewish women politicians Members of the Fabian Society Politicians from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni