MRS MOPP
vs
PARLIAMENT
“I feel a bit weak at the knees. Sir Stafford Cripps says we’re the enemies of democracy. Right. Were we the enemies of democracy during the war? Well girls, we’re here today to do something about this. The women I work with are NOT the enemies of democracy. They are the salt of the earth”
Mrs Mopp vs Parliament is going to be a book, a documentary and a drama-script.
The project charts the story of a plucky group of Whitehall cleaners who tirelessly campaigned for better pay and conditions, in the aftermath of the Second World War.
During those years, many women were widowed and working families often struggled to cope, on top of all this, the Whitehall cleaners were overworked and underpaid - they kept a place of power and wealth in working order, rising with the larks as part of the silent, invisible army of workers without whom this country would end in utter chaos. Despite doing their bit and working all hours, they often couldn’t even afford new shoes for their children.
And so began their dispute with their government bosses.
“If we stopped work for a couple of weeks, no-one would be able to work for the muck around here. Yet the people who turned down our pay can go on six weeks holiday & not be missed”
“I’m gonna give them treasury officials a piece of my mind, and tell ‘em straight that we must have that extra ha’penny an hour”
