Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Introduction Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the British ParliamentThe representation of '''women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom''' has been an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom at numerous points in the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally debate centred on whether women should be allowed to vote and stand for election as Members of Parliament. The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament. The United Kingdom has had three female Prime Ministers: Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990), Theresa May (2016–2019), and Liz Truss (2022). The publication of the book ''Women in the House'' by Elizabeth Vallance in 1979 highlighted the under-representation of women in Parliament. In more modern times concerns about the under-representation of women led the Labour Party to introduce and, decades later, abandon all-women short lists, something which was later held to breach discrimination laws.Between 1918 and 2024, a total of 564 women have been elected as Members of the House of Commons. As of February 2024 there are 225 women in the House of Commons, the highest ever. This remains an all-time high at 35% and is the first time that female representation in the House of Commons is at more than a third. The previous number was 208, set in 2017, which accounted for 32% of members elected or re-elected that year. Additionally, at the 2019 general election more female than male Labour MPs were elected or re-elected (104 women out of 202 MPs in total) – the first time in Labour's history that this has happened. The female member of Parliament with the longest period of continuous service is currently informally known as the Mother of the House.
Suffrage In 1832 Henry Hunt became the first MP to raise the issue of women's suffrage in the House of Commons, followed in 1867 by John Stuart Mill. Following this attempts were made to widen the franchise in every Parliament.Women gained the right to vote with the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918 after World War I. This gave the vote to women over the age of 30.However, the Speakers Conference which was charged with looking into giving women the vote did not have as its terms of reference, consideration to women standing as candidates for Parliament. However, Sir Herbert Samuel, the former Liberal Home Secretary, moved a separate motion on 23 October 1918 to allow women to be eligible as Members of Parliament. The vote was passed by 274 to 25 and the government rushed through a bill to make it law in time for the 1918 general election. This bill did not specify any age restriction, unlike the voting bill. This later led to a number of incidents of women under the age of 30, who were not allowed to vote, standing for Parliament, notably the 27-year-old Liberal Ursula Williams standing in 1923.
Landmarks and records === Political firsts for women in House of Commons ===* 1918: Women able to stand for Parliament. * 1918: First woman elected to Parliament (Constance Markievicz). However, as a member of Sinn Féin, she did not take her seat. Markievicz also became the only woman to represent an Irish constituency in Parliament until 1922 and the first female member who, before the election, chose to become a Catholic. * 1919: Member of Parliament to take her seat (Nancy Astor) – for Coalition s * 1921: British-born member to take her seat (Margaret Wintringham) –  Party * 1923: Disabled woman (Mabel Philipson) – Conservative Party. She had no vision in one eye. * 1924: Minister (Margaret Bondfield) – for  Party * 1926: Member to represent more than one constituency in non-consecutive terms (Margaret Bondfield) – Labour Party* 1929: Cabinet minister and privy counsellor (Margaret Bondfield)* 1929: Female Baby of the House (Jennie Lee) – Labour Party* 1929: Independent member elected (Eleanor Rathbone)* 1929: Non-Christian elected (Marion Phillips) – Labour Party* 1929: Shortest-serving member (Ruth Dalton) – Labour Party; equalled in 1974 by Margo MacDonald – * 1931: Member to cross the floor (Cynthia Mosley) – from Labour to * 1931: Member to die in office and oldest woman elected (Ethel Bentham) – Labour Party* 1938: Resignation from the House, i.e. appointment to a stewardship (The Duchess of Atholl) –  Party* 1943: Wheelchair user (Lady Apsley) – Conservative Party* 1948: Chair of Committee of Whole House (Florence Paton) – Labour Party* 1948: British-born Catholic (Alice Cullen) – Labour Party* 1953: Member from Northern Ireland; first Irishwoman to take her seat (Patricia Ford) – Ulster Unionist Party* 1965: Parliamentary Whip (Harriet Slater) – Labour Party * 1969: Irish republican non-abstentionist (Bernadette Devlin McAliskey) – Unity* 1970: Deputy speaker (Betty Harvie Anderson) –  Party* 1974: Youngest woman to leave the House (Bernadette Devlin McAliskey) – Independent Socialist* 1975: Leader of the Opposition (Margaret Thatcher)* 1976: Member outed as LGBT (Maureen Colquhoun) – Labour Party * 1979: Prime Minister (Margaret Thatcher) who led the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. * 1987: Member from ethnic or racial minorities (Diane Abbott) – Labour Party* 1992: Speaker of the House of Commons (Betty Boothroyd) – Labour Party. As of  she remains the only female to hold the office of House Speaker. * 1997: Full-time Minister for Women (Joan Ruddock) – Labour Party* 1997: Member who came out as LGBT in office (Angela Eagle) – Labour Party* 1998: Chief Whip (Ann Taylor) – Labour Party* 2010: LGBT member elected (Margot James) – Conservative Party* 2010: Minor party members elected (Caroline Lucas – Green Party of England and Wales; Naomi Long – Alliance Party of Northern Ireland)* 2015: Youngest woman elected (Mhairi Black) – SNP* 2016: Cabinet minister to come out in office (Justine Greening) – Conservative Party* 2016: Member to be assassinated (Jo Cox) – Labour Party. She became also the first Labour MP to die as a crime victim. * 2017: Oldest woman to be re-elected (Ann Clwyd) - Labour Party* 2019: Ethnic minority female holder of a Great Office of State (Priti Patel) – Conservative Party* 2019: Non-Christian by choice of conversion elected (Charlotte Nichols) – Labour Party* 2019: Oldest woman to leave the House (Ann Clwyd) – Labour Party* 2022: Youngest, shortest-serving Prime Minister (Liz Truss) and also her party's youngest female parliamentary leader, and female Deputy Prime Minister (Thérèse Coffey) – Conservative Party* 2022: Member to vacate her seat for an actual paid office under the Crown (Rosie Cooper) – Labour Party* 2023: Member to be recalled by a successful petition (Margaret Ferrier) – Independent, originally elected from the SNP=== Records ===Margaret Beckett is the longest serving female MP in the history of the House of Commons. She was an MP for Lincoln from 10 October 1974 until 7 April 1979, and has served as MP for Derby South since 9 June 1983, most recently being re-elected on 12 December 2019.Harriet Harman is the longest continuously serving female MP in the history of the House of Commons. She was MP for Peckham from 28 October 1982 until 1 May 1997, and has served as MP for Camberwell and Peckham since 1 May 1997, most recently having been re-elected on 12 December 2019.On 13 June 2017 Harman was dubbed "Mother of the House" by Prime Minister Theresa May, in recognition of her status as longest continuously serving woman MP (though she was not the longest serving MP overall, and would therefore not gain any official duties).=== Female MPs with over 25 years' service ===As of 2024, there are 36 women (out of a total of 564) who have served 25 years or more service in the House of Commons, either continuously or cumulatively.PartyNameConstituencyYear electedYear left Length of continuous termLength of cumulative termHackney North and Stoke Newington1987Still servingPlymouth Sutton19191945Lincoln & Derby South1974 & 19831979 & Still servingWest Bromwich & West Bromwich West19732000Regent's Park and Kensington North & Westminster North1997Still servingBlackburn East & Blackburn19451979Cynon Valley19842019Stockport19922019Pontefract and Castleford & Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford1997Still servingCamberwell North West & Peckham19451974Exeter, Crewe & Crewe and Nantwich1966 & 19741970 & 200838 years, 3 monthsWallasey1992Still servingLiverpool Garston & Garston and Halewood1997Still servingMerton and Morden & Plymouth Drake19701997Chesham and Amersham19922021Peckham & Camberwell and Peckham1982Still servingLanark & Clydesdale19591987Barking1994Still servingVauxhall19892019Lancaster19701997Birmingham Edgbaston1966 1997Epping Forest1997Still servingNorth Lanarkshire & Cannock1929 & 19451931 & 197027 years, 6 monthsEton and Slough & Eccles1966 & 19871983 & 199726 years, 11 monthsAnglesey & Carmarthen1929 & 19571951 & 196631 years, 6 monthsMaidenhead1997Still servingMitcham and Morden1997Still servingBristol South19872015Lewisham Deptford19872015Birmingham Ladywood19832010Bolton West & Dewsbury1974 & 19871983 & 200526 years, 5 monthsFinchley1959 1992Stoke-on-Trent North19872015Wallsend & Tynemouth1931 & 19501945 & 197437 years, 7 monthsCongleton19832010Doncaster Central1997Still serving
Current representation As of February 2024, there are 225 female MPs in the House of Commons.Political partyNumber of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs''House of Commons''''649''''225''''35%''''100%'' 3498825%39% 19910452%46% 431535%7% 151067%4% 8113%100%0%In February 2018 the Electoral Reform Society reported that hundreds of seats were being effectively 'reserved' by men, holding back women's representation. Their report states that 170 seats are being held by men first elected in 2005 or before – with few opportunities for women to take those seats or selections. Broadly speaking, the longer an MP has been in Parliament, the more likely they are to be male. Winner's gender by number of MPs ''MP for this seat since:''  ''Total''  ''Female''  ''Male''  ''% F''  ''% M'' 2001 or before 143  21  122  14.7%  85.3% 2005 or before 	 212  42  170  19.8%  80.2% 2010 or before 	 380  93  287  24.5%  75.5% 2015 or before 545  167  378  30.6%  69.4% 2018 or before 650  208  442  32.0%  68.0% 2019 (all MPs) 650  220  430  33.9%  66.1%=== Current female Cabinet members (Conservative Party) ===* Kemi Badenoch – Secretary of State for International Trade (2022–23)/Business and Trade (2023–present)/President of the Board of Trade* Gillian Keegan – Secretary of State for Education* Penny Mordaunt – Leader of the House of Commons/Lord President of the Council* Michelle Donelan – Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2022–23)/Science, Innovation and Technology (2023–present)* Lucy Frazer – Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport* Chloe Smith – Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (2023)* Claire Coutinho – Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (2023–present)* Victoria Atkins – Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (2023–present)
Historic representation === 2019 election ===In the 2019 general election, 220 women were elected, making up 34% of the House of Commons, up from 208 and 32% before the election. As elected in the 2019 general electionPolitical partyNumber of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs''House of Commons'' ''650''''220''''34%''''100%'' 3658724%40% 20210451%47% 481633%7% 11764%3% 8113%100%0%==== Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2019 election ====* Suella Braverman - Attorney General for England and Wales (2020–22)/Secretary of State for the Home Department (2022, 2022–23)* Thérèse Coffey – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2019–22)/Health and Social Care & Deputy Prime Minister (2022)/Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2022–23)* Michelle Donelan – Secretary of State for Education (2022)* Nadine Dorries – Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport* Baroness Evans of Bowes Park – Leader of the House of Lords* Amanda Milling – Minister Without Portfolio* Priti Patel – Secretary of State for the Home Department (2019–22)* Chloe Smith – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2022)* Anne-Marie Trevelyan – Secretary of State for International Development (2020)/International Trade and President of the Board of Trade (2021–22)/Transport (2022)* Liz Truss – Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Developmental Affairs (2021–22)/Prime Minister (2022)=== 2017 election ===In the 2017 general election, 208 women were elected, making up 32% of the House of Commons, up from 191 and 29% before the election. As elected in the 2017 general electionPolitical partyNumber of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs''House of Commons'' ''650''''208''''32%''''100%'' 3176721%32% 26211945%57% 351234%6% 12433%2% 10110%100%0%==== Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2017 election ====* Theresa May – Prime Minister* Liz Truss – Secretary of State for International Trade/President of the Board of Trade* Thérèse Coffey – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2019)* Baroness Evans of Bowes Park – Leader of the House of Lords* Penny Mordaunt – Secretary of State for Defence* Karen Bradley – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland* Andrea Leadsom – Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy* Priti Patel – Secretary of State for the Home Department* Theresa Villiers – Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs* Nicky Morgan – Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport* Esther McVey – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2018)* Amber Rudd – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2018–19)=== 2015 election ===In the 2015 general election, 191 women were elected, making up 29% of the House of Commons, up from 141 and 23% before the election.Political partyNumber of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs''House of Commons'' ''650''''191''''29%''''100%'' 3306821%36% 2329943%52% 562036%10% 800%0% 800%0% 400%0% 3133%100%0%==== Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2015 election ====* Theresa May – Secretary of State for the Home Department*Justine Greening – Secretary of State for International Development*Nicky Morgan – Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities*Baroness Stowell of Beeston – Leader of the House of Lords*Theresa Villiers – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland*Liz Truss – Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2014–16)/Justice (2016–17)*Amber Rudd – Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change===2010 election===As elected in the 2010 general election.Political partyNumber of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs''House of Commons'' ''650''''143''''22%''''100%'' 3064916%34% 2588131%57% 57712%5% 800%0% 6117%0.7% 5120%0.7% 300%0% 3133%0.7% 11100%0.7% 11100%0.7% 11100%100%0%==== Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2010 election ====* Theresa May – Secretary of State for the Home Department* Caroline Spelman – Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs* Cheryl Gillan – Secretary of State for Wales* Baroness Warsi – Minister without PortfolioA total of 46 female ministers have held Cabinet positions since the first, Margaret Bondfield, in 1929.Tony Blair's 1997 Cabinet had five women and was the first to include more than two female ministers at one time. The highest number of concurrent women Cabinet ministers under Tony Blair was eight (36 per cent), then a record from May 2006 to May 2007.Other women have attended Cabinet without being full members, including Caroline Flint, Anna Soubry and Caroline Nokes. Some who have attended Cabinet have subsequently, or previously been full Cabinet ministers, including Tessa Jowell, Liz Truss and Andrea Leadsom. '''Women Cabinet ministers 1929–present'''1929–31Margaret Bondfield (Lab)75px1945–47Ellen Wilkinson (Lab)75px1953–54Florence Horsbrugh (Con)75px1964–70/74–76Barbara Castle (Lab)75px1968–69Judith Hart (Lab)75px1970–74/79–90Margaret Thatcher (Con)75px1974–79Shirley Williams (Lab)75px1982–83Baroness Young (Con)75px1992–97Gillian Shephard (Con)75px1992–97Virginia Bottomley (Con)75px1997–2007(attended Cabinet 2008–09)Margaret Beckett (Lab)75px1997–2001Ann Taylor (Lab)75px1997–98/2007–10Harriet Harman (Lab)75px1997–2001Mo Mowlam (Lab)75px1997–2003Clare Short (Lab)75px1998–2001Baroness Jay of Paddington (Lab)75px2001–03Helen Liddell (Lab)75px2001–02Estelle Morris (Lab)75px2001–07Hilary Armstrong (Lab)75px2001–07Patricia Hewitt (Lab)75px2001–07/09–10(attended Cabinet 2007–09)Tessa Jowell (Lab)75px2003–07Baroness Amos (Lab)75px2004–08Ruth Kelly (Lab)75px2006–09Hazel Blears (Lab)75px2006–09Jacqui Smith (Lab)75px2007–08Cathy Baroness Ashton of Upholland (Lab)75px2008–10Yvette Cooper (Lab)75px2008–10Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Lab)75px2010–12Caroline Spelman (Con)75px2010–12Cheryl Gillan (Con)75px2010–12Baroness Warsi (Con)75px2010–19Theresa May (Con)75px2011–18Justine Greening (Con)75px2012–14Maria Miller (Con)75px2012–16/19–20Theresa Villiers (Con)75px2014–16 (as Nicky Morgan)/19–20Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Con)75px2014–17/19–22(attended Cabinet 2017–19)Liz Truss (Con)75px2014–16Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Con)75px2015–18/18–19Amber Rudd (Con)75px2016–22Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)75px2016–19Karen Bradley (Con)75px2016–17/19–20(attended Cabinet 2017–19)Andrea Leadsom (Con)75px2016–17/19–22Priti Patel (Con)75px2017–19/22–Penny Mordaunt (Con)75px2018/19(attended Cabinet 2019–20/23–)Esther McVey (Con)75px2019–Thérèse Coffey (Con)75px2020/21–22Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Con)75px2021–22Nadine Dorries (Con)75px2022–(attended Cabinet 2021–22)Michelle Donelan (Con)75px2022–Kemi Badenoch (Con)75px2022/22–23(attended Cabinet 2020–21/21–22)Suella Braverman (Con)75px2022–Gillian Keegan (Con)75px2022/23Chloe Smith (Con)75px2023–Lucy Frazer (Con)75px2023–Claire Coutinho (Con)75px2023–Victoria Atkins (Con)75px'''Women junior ministers in the Cabinet'''1968–69Judith Hart (Lab)2007–09Caroline Flint (Lab)75px2007–09Beverley Hughes (Lab)75px2007–10Baroness Scotland of Asthal (Lab)75px2009–10Dawn Primarolo (Lab)75px2009–10Rosie Winterton (Lab)75px2014–16Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)75px2015–16Anna Soubry (Con)75px2018–19Caroline Nokes (Con)75px2018–19Claire Perry (Con)75px2020–21Amanda Milling (Con)75px2022Vicky Ford (Con)75px2022Wendy Morton (Con)75px2022–Victoria Prentis (Con)75px2023–Laura Trott (Con)75px=== All-women shortlists ===All-women shortlists are a method of affirmative action which has been used by the Labour Party to increase the representation of women in Parliament. As of 2015, 117 Labour MPs have been elected to the House of Commons after being selected as candidates through an all-women shortlist. In 2002 this method of selection was ruled to breach the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.In response to this ruling the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 legalised all-women short lists as a method of selection. The Equality Act 2010 extends this exemption from discrimination law to 2030.Ahead of the next general election, ''HuffPost'' reported in March 2022 that Labour stopped using all-women shortlists, citing legal advice that continuing to use them for choosing parliamentary candidates would become an "unlawful" practice again under the Equality Act.
See also *Blair Babe*Election results of women in United Kingdom general elections (1918–1945)*List of female members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom*Lists of female political office-holders in the United Kingdom*Timeline of female MPs in the House of Commons*Widow's succession*Women in the House of Lords*European countries by percentage of women in national parliaments*Women in positions of power*Critical mass (gender politics)*Women Political Leaders*Women in government
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