Royal Mail issues special set of stamps to celebrate centenary of women's right to vote

A set of special stamps will be issued to celebrate the centenary of women's right to vote in parliamentary elections.

The eight stamps feature original photographs of campaigning in the decade before the right to vote was passed with the 1918 Representation of the People Act.

Among the selected images are a suffragette demonstration in Whitehall around 1908, a pilgrimage to London in 1913, a parade of women carrying posters in 1907 and the release from prison of suffragettes Mary Leigh and Edith New.

Liz Law, of the Royal Mail, said: "Our Votes for Women stamps convey the scale of activities that the different organisations undertook in their tireless campaigning for the vote.

"We are proud to mark the anniversary of the Representation of the People Act - an Act that has given women across the generations the opportunity to have their voices heard."

The Act, which was passed on February 6 1918, granted a portion of women over 30 in the UK the right to vote for the first time.

In December 1918, women voted in their first general election.

The stamps will be available from February 15.