Women and Politics

This chapter traces the connections and tensions between the political history of women and the history of British politics. First, it examines the historiographical development of a political history of women, exploring the key debates and focal points. Second, it considers how the political history of women was both a major beneficiary of the challenges faced by political history and itself a challenger to political history. Third, this chapter attempts to trace chronologies of women’s politics, thinking about how we might conceptualize the narratives of change and continuity. Finally, it considers the possible future directions that research might take, thinking about areas that seem important and in need of further study.