Our Green Patron, Caroline Lucas has recently stood down from her service as a member of Parliament. We thank her for her devoted service to our city and wish her a very happy retirement.

We know our Patrons will defend the rights of women and girls, inspired in part by Mary Clarke and the long struggle of the suffragist movement – as well as similar movements for democracy and civil rights. We hope all candidates will do the same.

Note that the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal has cross party support and no party-political affiliation.

at a special council meeting at Hove Town on  Thursday 14 December 2023. This followed a wonderful Reception for trustees of the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal and supporters, hosted by the Mayor Jackie O’Quinn.

Briony Goulden, Mary’s great-great-niece, and a trustee of the Appeal, accepted the honour, assisted by her daughters Sylvie and Lena. The two girls are Child Ambassadors for the Appeal.

The award was unanimously agreed by all three parties represented on the Council. Briony received the official certificate on behalf of the Mary and our Appeal. She thanked the council for its support and assistance over the years, in particular for its help in funding our bronze maquette made by sculptor Denise Dutton to the design of the proposed statue. The maquette was on display in the Council Chamber along with our embroidered banner, a poster of Mary and a seven foot cut-out of the proposed statue.

There were many moving speeches. Cllr Bella Sankey, the Labour leader of the Council and a campaigner for women’s rights and safety, moved the motion to honour Mary. She said: “It is only thanks to women like Mary that I can stand here, that women like me can enter politics and continue the fight for women’s rights.”

She added: “There is still so much to fight for. I want this award to be the first step in celebrating her legacy”…. “I want every girl and woman in our great city to know about Mary Clarke and what she did for us.” Cllr Sankey said that she hoped one day to see Mary Clarke’s statue in the grounds of the Royal Pavilion and Conservative councillor Carol Theobald and others agreed. 

Councillor Theobald said: “Let us hope that the statue proposed for Mary for will come

to the Pavilion estate, as it is thoroughly deserved.” She recalled 2018, when the blue plaque for the WSPU was installed at the Quadrant, commenting correctly that it was a shame that:  “…Mary had not been recognised among the women’s suffrage campaigners who were commemorated on the plinth of Millicent Fawcett’s statue in Parliament Square.” 

Cllr Theobald highlighted the terrible violence Mary and her fellow suffragettes suffered at Black Friday, when so many were attacked and sexually assaulted.

Labour Cllr Amanda Grimshaw, who has long supported our campaign and is an active campaigner against domestic abuse, also made a moving speech. There was warm support too from Green Councillor Sue Shanks who said she hoped to see many more women given the freedom of the city.

Labour Cllr Alan Robins spoke passionately about the importance of the statue and

paid generous tribute to the campaigning work of the Statue Appeal. He especially highlighted the awareness raising work of the child ambassadors and the Mary’s Lamp girls’ group at Balfour School. Since the 2018 centenary, Cllr Robins has worked with us in advocating for suffrage plaques and the statue of Mary. He too supports it being erected in the Pavilion Gardens near the Museum to ensure it is seen by as many people as possible, especially children.

When Labour Councillor Mitchie Alexander rose to speak she surprised those present, not by making a speech, but by reading a very powerful poem she had written herself about Mary’s  importance to women.

With Cllr Alexander’s permission, we hope to get the text of that poem and post it on the website

Statements of support were also read from the city’s three members of Parliament, Caroline Lucas, Peter Kyle and Lloyd Russell-Moyle, the first two of whom are Patrons of the Appeal.

After the meeting, Jean Calder, Chair of Trustees commented: “Our fundraising has

been hard hit, first by the COVID lockdown and then the cost of living crisis. This wonderful honour has raised Mary’s profile once again and will provide a renewed boost to the campaign as it relaunches in 2024. We are so grateful to the Mayor, Cllr Sankey and others for all their help.”

“Given an  increase in foundry costs, including the cost of bronze, our target is now £60,000, of which we have raised £20,000, almost all of it from small individual donations.”

Great news. Broadcaster, writer and activist Simon Fanshawe has agreed to join the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal’s group of Patrons. He has already proved himself worth his weight in gold by putting us in touch with Comedian Zoe Lyons and some other famous folk.

There’s even a possibility Zoe Lyons may MC  our benefit concert on the 4th March at St George’s Church. But more about that later…. Tickets for “Double Standards” the concert by jazz legions Claire Martin and Liane Carroll can be booked at: double-standards-4mar.eventbrite.co.uk/ . Simon will be there, possibly serving at the cash Bar or making himself very useful in some other capacity.

Simon joins our other Patrons: local M.P.s Maria Caulfield, Caroline Lucas and Peter Kyle; Baroness Joyce Gould, life long campaigner for women’s rights;  Professor June Purvis, academic and biographer of Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst (Mary Clarke’s sister and niece); and Juliet Smith, Deputy Lieutenant of East Sussex. We are very grateful to them all for their support.

Note that the M.P.s are very unlikely to be able to attend the concert because Parliament is sitting and the concert is mid-week.

Jean Calder (Chair of Appeal)