For this week’s quiz, I thought I would focus on women in the House. Various attempts were made to enable women to sit in the Lords prior to the 1958 Life Peerages Act. The passage of the Sex Discrimination (Removal) Act 1919 was taken by some as suggesting that women may be eligible for admission to the House. At the time there was a small number of hereditary peeresses and one of them, Viscountess Rhondda, requested a writ of summons. Her application was initially upheld by the Committee of Privileges, but after opposition from some peers it was reconsidered and turned down. A Private Member’s Bill to allow women to sit was variously introduced but failed to achieve passage. It was not until 1958 that women could be offered life peerages and it was the 1963 Peerages Act that allowed women who inherited their titles to sit.
This week’s questions:
1. Who was the first woman Leader of the House of Lords?
2. Which Leader of the House held office while her father was also a member of the House?
3. Of the two women who presently sit as elected hereditary peers, who has served in the House the longest?
4. Which female life peer has served as a distinguished judge and whose brother served as Lord Chancellor?
The first two readers to supply the correct answers will be the winners.
1. Baroness Young
2. Baroness Jay
3. Margaret of Mar
4. Dame Mary Claire Hogg
1) Lady Young
2) Baroness Jay, and her father was the Lord Callaghan
3) The Countess of Mar, since 1975
4) Baroness Butler-Sloss
I hope so, anyway.
1. Baroness Young
2. Baroness Jay of Paddington
3. The Countess of Mar
4. Baroness Butler-Sloss
1) The Rt Hon the Baroness Young (Conservative) Sept 1981 – May 1983
2) Baroness Jay of Paddington (father was Baron Callaghan of Cardiff)
3) Margaret of Mar, 30th Countess of Mar
4) Baroness Butler-Sloss
Darn, too slow.
1. Baroness Young
2. Baroness Jay of Paddington daughter of James Callaghan
3. The Countess of Marr, who entered the house in 1975
4. Baroness Butler-Sloss
1. Baroness Young (1981)
2. Baroness Jay of Paddington (daugher of Lord Callaghan of Cardiff)
3. The Countess of Mar (1975)
4. Baroness Butler-Sloss (sister of Lord Havers)
1. Baroness (Janet) Young
2. Baroness Jay of Paddington
3. The Countess of Mar
4. Baroness Butler-Sloss
1) Lady Young
2)Lady Jay of Paddington (Lord Callaghan of Cardiff)
3)Countess of Mar (1975)
4) Lady Butler-Sloss (Lord havers)
Lord Norton: As I’m unable to visit London on anything but an exceedingly infrequent basis I take the quiz for the pleasure not the prize.
🙂
1. Baroness Young
2. Baroness Jay of Paddington, daughter of Lord Callaghan
3. The Countess of Mar
4. Baroness Butler-Sloss, sister of Lord Havers
I was slightly disappointed to see that two questions in a quiz on female members of the House were partly framed in terms of who their male relatives rather were than the achievements of the peeresses in their own right.
“Peeresses” – whoops. Baroness Wootton wouldn’t have liked that!
Oh dear! That should have of course have been “women peers” but I had been distracted by reading on Ruritarian matters, and resumed writing in that manner.
It is a curiosity that the hereditary office of Lord Great Chamberlain has been jointly held by a woman for most of the time in the last 229 years, but the office has only ever been exercised by a man.
Robert: The share of the office enjoyed by female heirs has generally been and is presently small. The male heirs, notably the present holder, enjoy the majority of the share of the office so the chances for a female holder is infrequent. Since the office is part parliamentary in function and duties it couldn’t have been exercised by a woman prior to 1958. Even post ’58 there has never been a ruling clarifying that it could be exercised by a woman, the earlier rulings all occurring before ’58 talked of female heirs appointing a deputy. Assuming for arguments sake that they could exercise the office they would still need to be a peeress or otherwise appoint another peer as deputy.
Robert you`d rather them have been framed like this ?
2. Which Leader of the House held office
4. Which female life peer has served as a distinguished judge
You`re not a friend of HH are you ? 😉
Congratulations to all those who contributed answers to the questions. As will be apparent, everyone got the answers correct. Given that several of you have supplied additional information, there is little I can add.
Congratulations to Len and Ulysses, who got in ahead of the other contributors. They are this week’s prize winners.
Robert: The reference to male relatives was to distinguish the women peers from others (otherwise, as Carl Holbrough indicates, there could be more than one answer) and to show that there are some distinguished families in public life. Perhaps I had better not mention that Baroness Butler-Sloss is also the aunt of the actor Nigel Havers.
Croft: If you ever do decide you would like to take up your prize as a grnd prize-winner, do let me know.