Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom


The 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 Act 1918 gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament. The United Kingdom has had two female Prime Ministers: Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. 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 all-women short lists, something which was later held to breach discrimination laws.
Between 1918 and 2019, a total of 552 women have been elected as Members of the House of Commons. As of June 2020 there are 220 women in the House of Commons, the highest ever. This is a new all-time high at 34% 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 that year. Additionally, at the 2019 general election more female than male Labour MPs were elected - the first time in Labour's history that this has happened. The longest-serving female member of Parliament 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

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.

Current representation

As of December 2019, there are 220 female MPs in the House of Commons.
Political party
Number of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs
House of Commons65022034%100%


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.
MP for this seat since:TotalFemaleMale% F% M
2001 or before1432112214.7%85.3%
2005 or before2124217019.8%80.2%
2010 or before3809328724.5%75.5%
2015 or before54516737830.6%69.4%
2018 or before65020844232.0%68.0%
2019 65022043033.9%66.1%

Current female Cabinet members (Conservative Party)

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.
Political party
Number of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs
House of Commons65020832%100%

Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2017 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 party
Number of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs
House of Commons65019129%100%

Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2015 election

As elected in the 2010 general election.
Political party
Number of MPsNumber of female MPsPercentage of party's MPsPercentage of female MPs
House of Commons65014322%100%

Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2010 election

A 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, under Tony Blair from May 2006 – 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.

All-women shortlists

s 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 Act 2002 legalised all-women short lists as a method of selection. The Equality Act 2010 extends this exemption from discrimination law to 2030.