Parliament bar to serve beer in Yorkshire MP's honour

The Baroness Bacon beer pays tribute to Alice Bacon, who after being elected as Leeds North East MP in 1945, became a high-profile minister, spearheading the introduction of comprehensive schooling.

She was also a powerful force in legalising abortion, scrapping the death penalty and decriminalising homosexuality.

The ale, produced by 
the Five Towns Brewery, was commissioned by The Forgotten Women of Wakefield Project, a group profiling 
and celebrating the achievements of women in the area including Normanton-born Alice.

Since launching on International Women’s Day in Wakefield, has proved popular.

But Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves, who in 2016 penned a book about Alice, has helped to secure it as a guest ale for a week in the Palace of Westminster

Ms Reeves said: “Alice Bacon was a pioneer and a role model. She was Yorkshire’s first woman MP, blazing an inspirational trail for women across the county and the country.

“She also played a key role in some of the most important changes of the 1960s, particularly education reform.

“It is important that we remember her remarkable life and legacy, so I am delighted to have secured the Baroness Bacon beer brewed in her honour as the guest beer in Parliament’s Strangers’ Bar to give us the opportunity to raise a glass to Alice.”

The Forgotten Women project group has been invited to parliament on June 20 to celebrate. Project leader Sarah Cobham said: “It is a privilege to be able to take Alice back to parliament, and even more special and exciting that it is in this year, the 100th anniversary of women over 30 being given the right to vote.”