She had a pass. That's the bit that undoes me — she wasn't climbing railings, she worked there. Secretary to Keir Hardie, in and out of the building all day, perfectly entitled to be in the corridors so long as somebody walked her through them.
How long did she get? About thirty seconds, by most accounts. She slipped her escort, got through a door she was not meant to go through, and called out at the whole chamber — something to the effect of stop debating the Children's Bill and give women the vote first. (Accounts of the exact words wander about a bit, which is what happens when nobody's writing it down and everyone's standing up.) She was carried out. The House went back to the Children's Bill.
That was 13 October 1908, and it's the first time a woman's voice is recorded in that room. The first woman elected to it was Constance Markievicz, in December 1918, and she didn't take the seat. Nancy Astor took hers in December 1919.
Eleven years for someone to be allowed to finish the sentence.
The women watching from the Ladies' Gallery were sitting behind a brass grille — heavy metalwork, hot, nearly impossible to see the floor through. It came down in 1917, and the record shows several members then complained about the draught.
Thirty seconds and an exit already in motion — any actor will tell you the hardest line in the business is the one you deliver walking off. Pip, she got it out while being carried, which is more than most understudies manage with a running start.