Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, attended a celebratory meeting of the Great Wyrley Townswomen’s Guild on the 12th August.
During the gathering, which took place at the Great Wyrley Methodist Church, Gavin spoke to attendees about his role as an MP and the work that he undertakes in his position as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Prime Minister.
This was followed by a question and answer session, in which members were given the opportunity to ask questions about his constituency and Parliamentary duties.
Gavin was subsequently invited to join the group for a slice of cake, in celebration of the Townswomen’s Guild’s 85th anniversary.
Gavin said: “I was hugely honoured to be asked to join this celebratory meeting of the Great Wyrley Townswomen’s Guild. It is an incredible organisation, with a rich and varied history, and is a huge force for good in our local community.
“The members asked a lot of intelligent questions and displayed a keen interest in politics, which I should have anticipated knowing the origins of the organisation.”
The Great Wyrley Townswomen’s Guild is one of the largest branches in the country, with over 130 members. It is also one of the most active, holding regular trips within the surrounding area and carrying out numerous good works in the local community.
The Townswomen’s Guilds was born in 1928, the year in which a previously limited right to vote was extended to cover all women - on the same terms as men.
The Guilds’ founding members, Eva Hubback and Margery Corbett Ashby, were suffragists, a group that sought to win the vote for women through peaceful and constitutional methods. The pair saw the need to create an organisation aimed at ordinary women living in the nation's towns and cities; an idea that led to the Townswomen's Guilds.