Edith Summerskill, Baroness Summerskill
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The Right Honourable The Baroness Summerskill CH PC |
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Edith Summerskill meets Queensland MPs in Brisbane, 1944
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| Minister of National Insurance | |
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In office 28 February 1950 – 26 October 1951 |
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| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | James Griffiths |
| Succeeded by | Osbert Peake |
| Member of Parliament for Fulham West |
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In office 1938 – 26 May 1955 |
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| Preceded by | Cyril Cobb |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Warrington |
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In office 26 May 1955 – 1961 |
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| Preceded by | Hyacinth Morgan |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 April 1901 |
| Died | 4 February 1980 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Dr Jeffrey Samuel |
| Alma mater | King's College London Charing Cross Medical School |
Edith Clara Summerskill, Baroness Summerskill CH PC (19 April 1901 – 4 February 1980) was a British physician, feminist, Labour politician and writer. She was appointed to the Privy Council in 1949.
Summerskill was educated at King's College London and was admitted to medical school at Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, one of the first few women to be admitted to medical school. She was one of the founders of the Socialist Health Association which spearheaded the National Health Service (1948). She pressed for equal rights for women in the British Home Guard. In 1938 she initiated the Married Women's Association to promote equality in marriage and became its first president.
Summerskill entered politics at 32 when she was asked to fight the Green Lanes ward in Harringay in the Middlesex County Council elections. She then served as a councillor on Middlesex County Council from 1934 until 1941. She stood for a seat in the House of Commons unsuccessfully in Putney in 1934 and Bury in 1935, before becoming Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Fulham West thanks to the working women's vote. She caused some disquiet by taking the seat in her maiden name. When the Fulham West constituency was abolished for the 1955 general election, she was returned to the House of Commons as MP for Warrington.
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