Why it's time to restore Scotland’s own 'Statue of Liberty' in Kilmarnock
The Reformers’ Monument to those who campaigned to extend the right to vote should be restored to its former glory in time for the centenary of universal suffrage in 2028
The struggle to gain the right to vote was a long and arduous one for the vast bulk of the ordinary population of this and many other countries. In an age when our politics has become so fractured, factionalised and riven with tribalism and toxicity, it is easy to dismiss or forget just how precious and hard won that right is.
Conduct any straw poll of voters in Scotland or the UK about politics these days and you will more than likely be met with responses along the lines of “politicians are all the same”, “they’re just in it for themselves” and much more in a similar space.
Such deeply ingrained cynicism is perhaps understandable but it would probably be greeted with dismay by those many courageous men and women of bygone generations who fought and won the right to exercise their democratic right.
A staging post on a longer journey
A memorial to that struggle stands on the outskirts of my home town, Kilmarnock. The Reformers’ Monument was raised in memory of the Scottish pioneers of parliamentary reform who had campaigned for the vote and it was unveiled, with great fanfare, in 1885.
The building of the monument marked a staging post on the journey, but it was not until much later that all men over 21 were given the right to vote, and even later still before that same right was extended to all women.
So, as we approach the centenary of the granting of universal suffrage in the UK, which arrived in 1928 – and in the week we mark International Women’s Day – it is worth asking whether the long struggle for female emancipation has been truly won.
To suggest otherwise might seem a strange proposition when, in just two years’ time, we will mark 100 years since all women over the age of 21 in the UK were given the right to vote.
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Equality for women still an aspiration
But emancipation, in the truest sense, must mean more than just having the legal right to put your cross against a name in the ballot box. It should also mean being able to play a full part in politics, in society and in the world of work more generally.
And the uncomfortable truth is that, for many women, that is still an aspiration rather than a reality. The statistics bear it out. Women remain under-represented in the highest echelons of politics, business and public life.
Great strides have been made, and the picture today is vastly preferrable to the one that existed just a generation or two ago. But there remains a long road still to travel.
Women are also disproportionately impacted by other factors, such as health conditions and caring responsibilities, which inhibit their ability to enter and remain in the workforce and can have a massive impact on women’s ability to lead active, fulfilling lives and on their capacity to contribute to the economy.
Championing progress
Addressing that fundamental imbalance should be a strategic priority for all governments. When you are faced with statistics showing that fully half of your population is not being allowed to fulfil their potential, it should be a call to action on multiple fronts.
As a female business leader who has been impacted personally by many of these barriers, I see it as my responsibility to not only try to inspire other women with the message that they can fulfil their potential, but also to act as champion of women’s issues and a voice for continued progress towards genuine, full emancipation.
Just because we are fortunate enough in this country – and in Western nations more generally – to have had greater progress towards equality than has been in the case in many other parts of the world does not mean that we should rest easy.
Indeed, it is perhaps only by going further and completing the journey of full equality in all respects that we will not only better the lives and life chances of women here, but also act as additional motivation for those in places where notions of female equality still lag far behind the progress that we have already made.
A fitting tribute
Sadly, the passage of time has not been kind to Reformers’ Monument in Kilmarnock, and it now stands without its crowning decoration – a statue of “Lady Liberty” – which was destroyed in a storm in 1936 and has never been replaced. As a symbol for stalled progress on the march to full equality, its empty plinth is perhaps a fitting one.
But plans are underway to restore the memorial to its former glory. A project backed by East Ayrshire Council and others aims to have the monument repaired, with a new statue of Lady Liberty placed on top.
Renewing this tribute to the men and women of the 19th century who fought so doggedly for their democratic rights is a project I am proud to lend my support to.
And, if things go according to plan, it should see the memorial unveiled afresh, with Scotland’s own statue of liberty in place – just in time for the centenary of universal suffrage in the UK in 2028. That would not only be a fitting tribute to the many struggles of the past, but also a beacon for hope on the road that we must still to travel towards full equality.
Dr Marie Macklin CBE is a leading Scottish businesswoman and investor
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