The Pankhurst family is closely associated with the militant campaign for the vote. In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst and others decided more direct action was required and started the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) with the motto 'Deeds not words'.
Women only
Membership of the WSPU was limited to women only. Emmeline Pankhurst's daughters, Christabel, Sylvia and Adela, were committed members.
WPSU members were determined to obtain the right to vote for women by any means and campaigned tirelessly and sometimes violently to achieve this aim.
Militant action
Their militant campaigns included attacks on property and politicians, which resulted in imprisonment and hunger strikes.
These tactics attracted a great deal of attention to the campaign for votes for women. Other organisations that campaigned included the Women's Freedom League, formed in 1907 by Teresa Billington-Greig and Charlotte Despard in a break from WSPU.
Not all those campaigning for women's right to vote favoured militant action.
Legal and constitutional support
Moderate women's organisations, such as the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) led by Millicent Fawcett, were instrumental in building up the legal and constitutional support for the enfranchisement of women but their contributions were often overshadowed by the high profile actions of the suffragettes.