Municipal Socialist Feminisms: Local Authority Women's Committees in the 1980s

<p dir="ltr">This chapter examines the work of local government women’s committees in the 1980s. It explores how some radical local authorities connected to the New Urban Left linked with local Women’s Liberation Movement activists to bring feminist priorities into council chambers. Many women’s committees operated with a mixture of elected and co-opted members as part of their determination to broaden participation in local government. Through their ability to distribute funding alongside offering practical support and advice, Women’s Committees lent support to various feminist initiatives in their communities. The chapter considers some examples of these and reflects on these committees’ broader legacy for women’s political activism in the later twentieth century.</p>