HUGE crowds turned out to see the statue of Oldham’s home-grown suffragette Annie Kenney unveiled in the town centre.

The public reveal of the statue on Parliament Square marks the centenary of the first women who were able to vote in a general election.

Hundreds of people, including Oldham MPs, actor Maxine Peake, as well as local schoolchildren and activists, marched with banners and a brass band through the town ahead of the presentation.

The bronze statue, by sculptor Denise Dutton, depicts the former mill-worker in the Votes for Women sash and ringing a bell.

A working class woman from a poor background, Annie helped spearhead the campaign for universal suffrage and was imprisoned 13 times for the cause.

Together with Christabel Pankhurst, Annie was arrested and jailed for three days for challenging then Oldham MP Winston Churchill and Liberal Sir Edward Grey about women’s voting rights.

Annie’s great grand-niece, Eleanor Roberts was one of many of the Kenney family descendants present at the unveiling, and she told the crowds women continue to fight their battle today.

She said: “There still isn’t equality for women, not truly, it may be there on paper but we still don’t get equal pay, we still don’t get equal representation.

“There are still women on hunger strike today at Yarl’s Wood detention centre and we all need to be aware of these issues as women, and men need to be there to support us.

“Keep doing what the women’s movement did – support your sisters.”

Jim McMahon, Oldham West and Royton MP and chair of the Annie Kenney Memorial Fund, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was a ‘working class hero’.

“I think people have now felt so emotionally connected to Annie’s story, particularly the young people, which is really inspiring,” he said.

“The message that they hopefully will take from today is that the battles for fairness, for equality, to tackle injustice when you see it is a responsibility of every generation.

“Annie stepped up in her day and it’s for everybody to step up today.”

A dramatic re-enactment of Annie’s life was performed by local actors before the covering cloth was pulled away by children from St Thomas’ School, in Lees.

Born in 1879 in Springhead, she was one of 12 children and worked in a cotton mill from the age of ten, where she lost a finger in a machine accident.

Fundraising for the statue has been organised by the Annie Kenney Memorial Fund Committee, who raised the total cost from predominantly local donations over two years.

Deputy council leader Arooj Shah said: “What’s absolutely fantastic about this is it’s purely through public subscription – everybody brought Annie Kenney home.

“The Pankhursts are absolutely fantastic, but Annie Kenney was a working class suffragette and she deserved more than just a paragraph or a quote here and there and down to Jim and the people of Oldham we’ve got it and that’s so symbolic.”

The council will now take responsibility for the statue’s maintenance going forward.

Boltonian actor Maxine Peake became involved in the Annie Kenney campaign after being contacted by Chadderton councillor Graham Shuttleworth.

She said that Annie not only had to fight for her suffrage, but also to establish herself as the only working class woman to hold a senior position in the Women’s Social and Political Union.

“Working class women had the biggest sacrifice to make, it can’t have been easy to get involved in politics when you’re working long shifts and supporting your family,” she said.

“But if you want something changed ask someone who’s already struggling because she’s got that resilience and bravery, and fearlessness.

“It’s an extraordinary journey and it should be an inspiration for us all.”

Across Greater Manchester, women’s suffrage has been thrown into the limelight with the Annie Kenney statue unveiling taking place on the same day as a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst is revealed in St Peter’s Square.