It might seem a strange choice to include an analysis of women who are neither portrayed as citizens nor as candidates in a study about electoral news. However, the ubiquity of coverage of spouses and relatives tells us a tremendous amount about British politics. Politicians’ relatives occupy an in-between status where they are part citizen (as voters) and part politician (due to their political advocacy), which disrupts the traditional divide between public and private spheres. As a result, these women often appear in the newspapers as symbolic representations of, or advocates for, their male relatives’ political credentials or personal qualities. As these women are only included on the basis of their relationship with men, it is therefore instructive to scrutinize the newspaper coverage they receive because their presence also reveals much about the gendered character of election coverage.

Coverage of wives and other female relatives is not a new phenomenon. The inclusion of women who were close to frontline male politicians in campaigning organizations like the Primrose League and the Women's Liberal Federation encouraged women to become active in party politics long before they gained the right to vote (Cowman, 2010). Consequently, female relatives of aspiring or established politicians have been part of election campaigns for a long time. Prime minister William Gladstone's wife Catherine was thought to be the first to establish the idea that wives should be seen alongside their husbands on the campaign trail by appearing on the platform when he spoke (Lawrence, 2009). Other women took a much more active role: Jennie Churchill (wife of Tory MP Randolph Churchill, and mother of Winston) became famous for giving lively speeches and canvassing voters during the 1885 election (Lawrence, 2009).

The extent to which female family members are involved in electoral politics is underlined by the fact that the very first three women who became MPs (Nancy Astor, Margaret Wintringham, and Mabel Philipson) were all married to the former occupants of their parliamentary seats. In each case, there was a vacancy as a result of their husband either being elevated to the House of Lords, dying, or being disqualified from office (Cowman, 2010).