Frances Alexander stood for the Liberal Party in the Essex South East Constituency ( Rayleigh , Benfleet , Canvey etc) in the general elections of February 1974 and in 1979.
She’s now having her portrait displayed at the National Portrait Gallery – along with 207 others. This is not because she stood for election against SirBernard Braine, or because she’s been a Lib Dem councillor in High Wycombe but because:
Author and social campaigner Zerbanoo Gifford has completed an epic challenge of meeting and documenting the lives and careers of hundreds of inspirational women, from 60 countries and every field of endeavour. Frances Alexander is one, and features not only in Zerbanoo?s book but also in a set of 208 specially commissioned portraits by the artist Jeroo Roy, Women ? a world of inspiration. The outstanding women featured come from diverse backgrounds and achievements, but have one thing in common: they are part of a collective, noble endeavour to create a better world.
Frances Alexander started Women Welcome Women (as it was known then) in 1984. Her idea was to encourage international friendship by enabling women to visit one another in their own homes. Her philosophy of international friendship permeates the organisation. There is an ethos of increasing women?s self-confidence. ?Planning to spend a weekend with a member in a nearby country and carrying through that plan, making new friendships, noticing differences of interest in the lifestyles in the foreign country are great ways of gaining self-confidence and becoming articulate,? says Frances.
More is available here on the Wycombe Lib Dems website