Mabel Philipson

Who was Mabel Philipson?

Mabel Philipson was a British actress and politician. She was the third female member to serve in the House of Commons after this became legally possible in 1918, representing Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Born Mabel Russell, she became a successful music hall and comedy actress. Widowed by 1911, in 1917 she married Hilton Philipson, a business owner and National Liberal politician; they had three children.

On 21 November 1918 the Parliamentary Qualification of Women Act, introduced a few weeks previously by Lord Robert Cecil was given Royal Assent, making women eligible as Members of Parliament.

Hilton Philipson was unseated on petition in 1923, due to a fraud involving his agent. Mabel Philipson won the by-election to follow him, while standing as a Conservative. It was said that she made no secret that she intended to hold the seat until her husband's return; however when her husband's business hit financial difficulties in 1928 she announced her retirement as "the reason why I have held the seat has ceased to exist".

She returned to the stage after leaving Parliament, appearing as Mrs Tilling in Other People's Lives at the Wyndham Theatre in 1929.