 After the death of her mother in 1894 Benett moved to Burslem in Staffordshire where she started another co-operative society and a general store in nearby Hanley, which she managed.She campaigned in the Staffordshire Potteries to improve the health and working conditions of workers by trying to ban the use of lead in pottery glaze.In 1907 after attending a meeting where the speaker was Flora Drummond Bennet immediately realised that this important cause was where she needed to put her efforts and at the age of 57 joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and the newly formed Women's Freedom League (WFL).