A CENTURY of women’s suffrage was celebrated at a revived event proclaiming female political activism.

The centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which gave some women the right to vote in the UK, was the spur to revive the Durham Women’s Gala.

A family-friendly occasion, if was staged with a sunny backdrop, in its original home, the restored Victorian pleasure ground, Wharton Park, in Durham.

The gala was an annual event, which ran from 1921 to 1977, to mark the role of women in politics, raising the issues of the day from the female perspective.

Women from the Labour movement saw it as providing a political soap box for their newly-enfranchised sisters.

Prominent politicians of the day figured among its speakers, including Barbara Castle, Nye Bevan and Clement Attlee.

Among the figures invited to attend and speak at the resurrected gala, were host MP (Durham), Roberta Blackman-Woods, Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah, Clare Williams, Unison’s regional secretary, Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, Bishop Auckland MP, Helen Goodman, the Washington and Sunderland West member, Sharon Hodgson, plus North-East MEP Jude Kirton-Darling.

It featured live music from Ladies of Midnight Blue, an all-woman brass/afrobeat fusion duo, and Mums in Durham Choir, who appeared in BBC2’s The Choir: Gareth’s Best in Britain.

Many of the guests and other gala-goers were dressed in the emerald, white and violet colours of the women’s suffrage movement.

Dr Blackman-Woods was delighted at the occasion which she said has relevance in the modern era with issues of increasing female representation across the political field and gender pay inequality.

“There was a theme of getting more women into politics, getting more women MPs, but the people saw it as a wonderful day out for families.

“It’s a fantastic park, the same venue as the original women’s gala, and the first miners’ gala.”

Durham county councillor Joy Allen, who was with a group of women dressed in the suffragist colours, from Bishop Auckland and Crook, said: “We’re celebrating 100 years of the women’s vote. The anniversary is definitely worthy of a celebration.

“We’re celebrating in Durham city, in the heart of the county, the sun is shining and the smiles are breaking.”

Carole Atkinson, from Ferryhill, a founding member of the Friends of Durham Women’s Gala, said: “We started meeting just over a year ago, just to organise all the events, and it’s been brilliant to see all the support we’ve had.

“There’s been a lot of interest and we’re planning to build on it with educational events to ensure it stays in the public eye.”

It is thought there may be future celebrations, particularly on keys anniversaries in the furtherance of the women’s vote.