# Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor
**Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor** (Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, 19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who, as the Conservative MP for Plymouth Sutton from 1919 to 1945, became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) Constance Markievicz had been elected to the Commons in 1918, but as a [Sinn Féin](https://www.edgepedia.org/sinn-fein) member she refused the Oath of Allegiance and never sat; Astor was therefore the first woman to enter the chamber as a serving member.[2](https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/case-studies-women-parliament/what-difference/the-vote-for-some/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 19 May 1879, Danville, Virginia; 2 May 1964, Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) |
| Historic first | Took her seat on 1 December 1919 as the first woman MP in the House of Commons[3](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/politician) |
| 1919 by-election | Won on 28 November 1919 with 14,495 votes (51.9%) and a majority of 5,203; turnout 72.5% of 38,539 electors[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) |
| Parliamentary career | Conservative MP for Plymouth Sutton for 25 years; won seven consecutive elections (1919, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1931, 1935)[4](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/nancy-astor) • [3](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/politician) |
| Legislative first | Intoxicating Liquor (Sale to Persons Under Eighteen) Bill, passed 31 July 1923, the first Private Member's Bill passed by a woman[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) |
| Controversy | Associated with appeasement and the alleged "Cliveden Set"; accused of anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic statements[5](https://time.com/5741668/lady-astor-women-in-politics/) |
| Retirement | Left Parliament on 5 July 1945; succeeded by Lucy Middleton (Labour)[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) |
## Early life and marriage
Nancy Witcher Langhorne was born in [Danville, Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/danville-virginia), one of eleven children of Chiswell "Chilie" Dabney Langhorne and Nancy Witcher Keene, into what the [University of Reading](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-reading)'s Astor project describes as relative poverty.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) TIME describes her family as one that lost its fortune during the [American Civil War](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-civil-war).[5](https://time.com/5741668/lady-astor-women-in-politics/) She married Robert Gould Shaw II in 1897; the marriage ended in divorce in 1903, and in 1905 she moved to England with her young son Bobby, where her wit and horsemanship made her a society figure.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/)
In 1906 she married Waldorf Astor, a fellow American expatriate. His father gave the couple the [Cliveden](https://www.edgepedia.org/cliveden) estate as a wedding present, and Nancy became a society and political hostess of some repute, supporting her husband's political career.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) The History of Parliament notes that, unlike Christabel Pankhurst, she had not been involved with the women's suffrage movement and was best known as a hostess in London and at Cliveden.[6](https://historyofparliament.com/2014/05/02/nancy-astor/)
## The 1919 by-election
Waldorf Astor was elected MP for the newly created Plymouth Sutton seat in December 1918.[6](https://historyofparliament.com/2014/05/02/nancy-astor/) When his father, William Waldorf, 1st Viscount Astor, died in 1919, Waldorf inherited the peerage and had to leave the Commons for the [House of Lords](https://www.edgepedia.org/house-of-lords), and the Conservatives needed a new candidate for Plymouth Sutton.[3](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/politician) After debate about her suitability, Nancy was formally adopted, and she stood in his stead, well known and popular in the constituency after years of campaigning there.[3](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/politician) • [1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/)
Polling day was 15 November 1919. Her campaign drew wide press interest and showcased her personality; her anecdotes, known as "Astorisms", amused voters and she held her nerve when heckled.[3](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/politician) The historian Jacqui Turner of the University of Reading describes it as an "amazing, lively, witty American-style campaign" without English upper-class formality; Astor canvassed in Plymouth's poorest areas, sat down with women in poverty, and built a following among the city's women, who in turn persuaded their husbands to vote for her.[5](https://time.com/5741668/lady-astor-women-in-politics/)
The result, declared on 28 November 1919, gave Astor 14,495 votes (51.9%) against 9,292 (33.3%) for the Labour candidate W.T. Gay and 4,239 (14.8%) for the Liberal I. Foot, a majority of 5,203 on a turnout of 72.5 percent of the 38,539-name electoral roll.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) She was officially introduced to the House just before 4 p.m. on 1 December 1919, entering accompanied by Prime Minister David Lloyd George and [Arthur Balfour](https://www.edgepedia.org/arthur-balfour); *The Times* called it a "breach of parliamentary tradition", and she wore a plain black suit and hat to avoid comment on her clothing.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/)
## Parliamentary career
Astor gave her maiden speech, the first by a woman in the Commons chamber, on 24 February 1920, opening with the words "I shall not begin by craving the indulgence of the House" and invoking Plymouth's Drake and Raleigh.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) Her first speech on temperance came the same day, according to Encyclopedia.com, and she worked on behalf of equal women's suffrage; women over 30 had received the vote in 1918, but the voting age for women was not reduced to 21, matching men's, until 1928.[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nancy-langhorne-astor) Throughout the 1920s she campaigned for equal franchise and other women's issues with female MPs such as Margaret Wintringham and Ellen Wilkinson.[8](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nacny-astor-100-years-of-women-in-parliament-rachel-newton/) The Equal Franchise Act received royal assent on 2 July 1928, and Astor had consistently pressed the Conservative Party's promises on it, also acting as a conduit for women's groups in Parliament.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/)
**Legislative first.** On 31 July 1923 her Intoxicating Liquor (Sale to Persons Under Eighteen) Bill passed, making her responsible for the first Private Member's Bill ever passed by a woman; it was popularly called "Lady Astor's Bill", a name opponents used against her at elections.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) UK Parliament records it as the first Private Member's Bill by a woman to become law, restricting the sale of alcohol to people under 18.[5](https://time.com/5741668/lady-astor-women-in-politics/) • [15](https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/parliamentary-collections/nancy-astor/intoxicating-liquors-act/)
**Elections.** Including 1919, she was the voters' choice in seven elections in a row, in 1919, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1931 and 1935, canvassing in all weather and going into the poorest parts of the constituency.[3](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/politician) Her 1922 majority exceeded 3,000 despite friction over her anti-drink views; in 1929, with the aftermath of the 1926 coal miners' strike still felt and unemployment rising, she scraped through with a majority of just 211.[3](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/politician)
**Wartime Plymouth.** Plymouth Sutton was a naval constituency, and during the Plymouth Blitz, which razed much of the city, the Astors stayed with their constituents and servicemen; Nancy organized the evacuation of children and attended tea dances on the Hoe to boost morale.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) She was Lady Mayoress of Plymouth during the Blitz.[4](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/nancy-astor) By 1940 she had abandoned her earlier support for appeasement and voted to install Churchill as Prime Minister.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) After voting to oust [Neville Chamberlain](https://www.edgepedia.org/neville-chamberlain), an old friend and ally, she said, "Duds must be got rid of, even if they are one's dearest friends."[9](https://time.com/3605434/the-woman-who-broke-the-u-k-s-parliamentary-gender-barrier-wasnt-even-trying/)
## Cliveden, appeasement, and controversy
As chatelaine of Cliveden, Astor was one of the most prominent political hostesses of her day, hosting figures including Neville Chamberlain, Anthony Eden, Lord Lothian, Winston Churchill, and [David Lloyd George](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-lloyd-george).[10](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/30372/1/McWilliams_2024_WHR_Elite-hostesses-disruptive-forces_CC.pdf) • [11](https://collections.reading.ac.uk/special-collections/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/04/historyexplorerpartc_v2.pdf) In 1936 the communist journalist Claude Cockburn published an article in his anti-fascist journal *The Week* alleging a "Cliveden Set", a group of influential people using wealth, connections, and newspaper ownership to subvert government policy; the term was first used by Reynolds News on 28 November 1937.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) The Astors supported economic appeasement, believing the [Treaty of Versailles](https://www.edgepedia.org/treaty-of-versailles) sanctions on Germany should be eased, though by the late 1930s both had come to oppose political appeasement and voted for increased defense appropriations.[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nancy-langhorne-astor) Waldorf denied the existence of any clique in a 1938 letter to *The Times*, and the University of Reading project states there is no evidence that Nancy was a fascist or a Nazi sympathiser.[10](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/30372/1/McWilliams_2024_WHR_Elite-hostesses-disruptive-forces_CC.pdf) • [1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/)
Her record on prejudice is contested. TIME reports that historians have pointed to reported sympathies with Nazism and fascist movements and to anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic statements.[5](https://time.com/5741668/lady-astor-women-in-politics/) In 1934 she angrily denied a *News Chronicle* allegation that she had become "fanatically anti-Jewish".[12](https://www.jta.org/archive/lady-astor-denies-london-dailys-charge-she-is-anti-jewish) The Reading project finds ample archival evidence of anti-Catholicism, including her refusal to employ Roman Catholics as staff, but says evidence of strong anti-Semitism is often circumstantial, noting that she helped Jewish individuals who contacted her directly in the late 1930s; the Columbia Journalism Review records that she helped secure the release of the uncle of [Felix Frankfurter](https://www.edgepedia.org/felix-frankfurter), later a US Supreme Court justice, detained by German forces in Vienna.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) • [13](https://www.cjr.org/analysis/nancy-astor-statue.php) Stafford Cripps referred to her in Parliament as "The Member for Berlin".[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) Historians Julie Gottlieb and Jacqui Turner argue that Astor, a back-bench female MP with little power, has been pilloried more than the influential men who held similar views.[14](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/the-long-read-nancy-astor-pioneering-problematic-and-feminist-by-default/)
## Personality and retirement
Astor was a strict teetotaler and staunch anti-socialist with a sharp tongue; her barbs, collected as "Astorisms", targeted fellow politicians, the rich, Communists, Socialists, Nazis, Yankees, liquor manufacturers, newspapers, and antifeminists.[9](https://time.com/3605434/the-woman-who-broke-the-u-k-s-parliamentary-gender-barrier-wasnt-even-trying/) She famously clashed with [Winston Churchill](https://www.edgepedia.org/winston-churchill), who opposed women entering Parliament; in one exchange she told him, "If I were married to you, I'd put poison in your coffee," and he replied, "If I were married to you, I'd drink it."[9](https://time.com/3605434/the-woman-who-broke-the-u-k-s-parliamentary-gender-barrier-wasnt-even-trying/) In 1931 she visited Russia with [George Bernard Shaw](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-bernard-shaw) and Waldorf and interviewed Stalin, asking, "When are you going to stop killing people?"[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/)
She retired from Parliament on 5 July 1945, reluctantly, influenced by her family and an aging local party; Lucy Middleton (Labour) succeeded her, followed later by Astor's son Jakie.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) On her final day at [Westminster](https://www.edgepedia.org/westminster) she said, "I will miss the House; the House won't miss me. It never misses anybody."
## Legacy
Astor received the Freedom of the City of Plymouth on 17 July 1959 and died at Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire, on 2 May 1964.[1](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/) A statue of her in Plymouth was unveiled on the centenary of her election in 2019, an event that reignited public debate over her views; the statue was graffitied with the word "Nazi" as recently as 2020.[13](https://www.cjr.org/analysis/nancy-astor-statue.php) • [10](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/30372/1/McWilliams_2024_WHR_Elite-hostesses-disruptive-forces_CC.pdf) Her milestone remains the reference point for women's parliamentary representation: in the interwar years there were never more than 15 women MPs at one time, and 24 were elected in the 1945 general election, the contest in which she stood down.[10](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/30372/1/McWilliams_2024_WHR_Elite-hostesses-disruptive-forces_CC.pdf) • [5](https://time.com/5741668/lady-astor-women-in-politics/)
## References
1. [Astor: A short timeline, Nancy Astor and Gendered Interwar Politics, University of Reading](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nancy-astor/timeline/)
2. [The vote for some, UK Parliament](https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/case-studies-women-parliament/what-difference/the-vote-for-some/)
3. [Politician, Plymouth City Council](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/politician)
4. [Nancy Astor, Plymouth City Council](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/nancy-astor)
5. [A Century After Lady Astor Took Her Seat in Parliament, How Have British Politics Changed for Women?, TIME](https://time.com/5741668/lady-astor-women-in-politics/)
6. [Nancy Astor: the first female MP in the House of Commons, The History of Parliament](https://historyofparliament.com/2014/05/02/nancy-astor/)
7. [Nancy Langhorne Astor, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nancy-langhorne-astor)
8. [Nancy Astor: 100 years of women in Parliament, University of Reading](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/nacny-astor-100-years-of-women-in-parliament-rachel-newton/)
9. [The Woman Who Broke the U.K.'s Parliamentary Gender Barrier Wasn't Even Trying, TIME](https://time.com/3605434/the-woman-who-broke-the-u-k-s-parliamentary-gender-barrier-wasnt-even-trying/)
10. [Elite hostesses as disruptive forces: the country house in interwar Britain, Caroline M. McWilliams, Women's History Review (2024)](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/30372/1/McWilliams_2024_WHR_Elite-hostesses-disruptive-forces_CC.pdf)
11. [Department of History resource, University of Reading Special Collections](https://collections.reading.ac.uk/special-collections/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/04/historyexplorerpartc_v2.pdf)
12. [Lady Astor Denies London Daily's Charge She is Anti-Jewish, Jewish Telegraphic Agency](https://www.jta.org/archive/lady-astor-denies-london-dailys-charge-she-is-anti-jewish)
13. [Britain put up a statue of its first female MP, Columbia Journalism Review](https://www.cjr.org/analysis/nancy-astor-statue.php)
14. [Nancy Astor – pioneering, problematic and feminist by default, Julie Gottlieb and Jacqui Turner, University of Reading](https://research.reading.ac.uk/astor100/the-long-read-nancy-astor-pioneering-problematic-and-feminist-by-default/)
15. [Intoxicating Liquors Act, parliament.uk](https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/parliamentary-collections/nancy-astor/intoxicating-liquors-act/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Government and public administration › Politicians and government officeholders (biographies) › British politicians › Members of Parliament*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license