 They stressed their non militancy, non party and law abiding credentials to address a degree of fear by women of becoming identified with the "shrieking sisterhood" (WSPU).Locally there were immediate and legitimate reasons for unease and fear.When Margaret Robertson spoke at a National Union of Teachers Association meeting in Leigh, some male members in the audience "moodily twirled their moustaches and gazed at the floor" and the chairman "kept a few from that energy of opposition that often ends in blows".