Do you know any man who would object to the statue of Millicent Fawcett which is going to be erected in Parliament Square? Would any man chain himself to the railings of the House of Commons rather than see a memorial raised to that leading suffragette in the heart of British democracy?

Obviously, the political and social changes in the relative positions of women and men in the last two centuries are among the most significant alterations in the fabric of British society; and it seems unimaginable any Briton would disagree with the statement that "equality for women is one of the great British values".

Those were the words of Lord Finkelstein this week, when he was explaining why he joined the feminist activist Caroline Criado-Perez and the actress Emma Watson in a campaign supported by the Telegraph to make Millicent Fawcett the first woman honoured with a statue (taking her place among 11 men around the square, such as Churchill and Mandela). The Prime Minister declared this week that it was “right and proper” that such a memorial should be erected; and Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary, said it would be a “a fitting tribute” to Fawcett to whom we owed “a debt of gratitude”.