The Common Cause was a weekly publication that supported the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies[1] first published on 15 April 1909 mainly financed by Margaret Ashton.

[2] Its last issue was published on Friday, 30 January 1920, in which it announced its successor The Woman's Leader.

[7] Its first editor was Helena Swanwick, [8] who chose the name "Common Cause" because she believed that humanity was "bi-sexual", in other words that there were not "women's causes" or "men's causes".

[6] She resigned in June 1912 because of the policy of the NUWSS not to criticise the WSPU, the main suffragette organization, because she felt its militancy was hindering the progress of women's suffrage[9] and regarding them as "the greatest danger we have".

[11] In April 1913, Maude Royden, who had been a regular contributor to the paper, took up the post of editor[12] which she held until 1914.