Abstract/Summary

This article will constitute an assessment of the impact of Nancy Astor's election, the challenges she faced and the way her reputation has been shaped in the century since. It will also explore Astor's experience which echoes the challenges still facing women in politics today. Momentous historic milestones, such as the centenary of the partial franchise in 2018 and the election of Nancy Astor in 1919, it is inevitable that we look to the past to find synergies and echoes of the challenges and achievements that are evidenced today. While the lines of continuity are not always clear they are there, the present and the future are inevitably shaped by the past and to some extent those who inhabited it engaging with pathfinders whose contribution demanded recognition inform a response to contemporary issues and as such, in this light, Nancy Astor, both as an individual and her legacy, are important. Being the first is never easy and as historical totems they rarely sit comfortably on the pedestal that we force them on to. However, they are our cornerstone and the yardstick by which we measure our progress as a society.