Women_in_the_House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom
Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Females in the British House of Commons
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 (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.[1] 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.[2] The previous number was 208, set in 2017, which accounted for 32% of members elected or re-elected that year.[3] 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.[4][5] The female member of Parliament with the longest period of continuous service is currently informally known as the Mother of the House.
In 1832 Henry Hunt became the first MP to raise the issue of women's suffrage in the House of Commons,[6] followed in 1867 by John Stuart Mill. Following this attempts were made to widen the franchise in every Parliament.[7]
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.[8] This bill did not specify any age restriction, unlike the voting bill.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12]
- 1919: Member of Parliament to take her seat (Nancy Astor) – for Coalition Conservatives
- 1921: British-born member to take her seat (Margaret Wintringham) – Liberal Party
- 1923: Disabled woman (Mabel Philipson) – Conservative Party. She had no vision in one eye.
- 1924: Minister (Margaret Bondfield) – for Labour 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 – SNP
- 1931: Member to cross the floor (Cynthia Mosley) – from Labour to New Party
- 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) – Unionist 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) – Conservative 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 2024 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)[3] – 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)[13] – 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)[14] – Labour Party
- 2019: Oldest woman to leave the House (Ann Clwyd) – Labour Party
- 2019: Member to be recalled by a successful petition (Fiona Onasanya) – Independent, originally elected as Labour
- 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
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.
As of February 2024, there are 225 female MPs in the House of Commons.
| Political party |
Number of MPs | Number of female MPs | Percentage of party's MPs | Percentage of female MPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Commons[2] | 650 | 225 | 35% | 100% | |
| Conservative | 348 | 88 | 25% | 39% | |
| Labour | 199 | 104 | 52% | 46% | |
| SNP | 43 | 15 | 35% | 7% | |
| Liberal Democrats | 15 | 10 | 67% | 4% | |
| DUP | 8 | 1 | 13% | <1% | |
| Sinn Féin | 7 | 2 | 29% | <1% | |
| Plaid Cymru | 3 | 1 | 33% | <1% | |
| SDLP | 2 | 1 | 50% | <1% | |
| Alba | 2 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Green | 1 | 1 | 100% | <1% | |
| Alliance | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Reform UK | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Workers Party | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Independent | 18 | 3 | 17% | 1% | |
| Speaker |
1 | 0 | 0% | 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.[16][17]
| 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)[2] | 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[lower-alpha 31] (2023–present)
- Lucy Frazer – Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
- 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)
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.[18]
| Political party |
Number of MPs | Number of female MPs | Percentage of party's MPs | Percentage of female MPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Commons | 650 | 220 | 34% | 100% | |
| Conservative | 365 | 87 | 24% | 40% | |
| Labour | 202 | 104 | 51% | 47% | |
| SNP | 48 | 16 | 33% | 7% | |
| Liberal Democrats | 11 | 7 | 64% | 3% | |
| DUP | 8 | 1 | 13% | <1% | |
| Sinn Féin | 7 | 2 | 29% | <1% | |
| Plaid Cymru | 4 | 1 | 25% | <1% | |
| SDLP | 2 | 1 | 50% | <1% | |
| Alliance | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Green | 1 | 1 | 100% | <1% | |
| Speaker |
1 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2019 election
- Suella Braverman[lower-alpha 32] - Attorney General for England and Wales (2020–22)[lower-alpha 33]/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)/Science, Innovation and Technology (2023)
- 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.[3]
| Political party |
Number of MPs | Number of female MPs | Percentage of party's MPs | Percentage of female MPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Commons | 650 | 208 | 32% | 100% | |
| Conservative | 317 | 67 | 21% | 32% | |
| Labour | 262 | 119 | 45% | 57% | |
| SNP | 35 | 12 | 34% | 6% | |
| Liberal Democrats | 12 | 4 | 33% | 2% | |
| DUP | 10 | 1 | 10% | <1% | |
| Sinn Féin | 7 | 2 | 29% | <1% | |
| Plaid Cymru | 4 | 1 | 25% | <1% | |
| Green | 1 | 1 | 100% | <1% | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 100% | <1% | |
| Speaker |
1 | 0 | 0% | 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.[19]
| Political party |
Number of MPs | Number of female MPs | Percentage of party's MPs | Percentage of female MPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Commons | 650 | 191 | 29% | 100% | |
| Conservative | 330 | 68 | 21% | 36% | |
| Labour | 232 | 99 | 43% | 52% | |
| SNP | 56 | 20 | 36% | 10% | |
| Liberal Democrats | 8 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| DUP | 8 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Sinn Féin | 4 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Plaid Cymru | 3 | 1 | 33% | <1% | |
| SDLP | 3 | 1 | 33% | <1% | |
| Ulster Unionist | 2 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| UKIP | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Green | 1 | 1 | 100% | <1% | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 100% | <1% | |
| Speaker |
1 | 0 | 0% | 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 party |
Number of MPs | Number of female MPs | Percentage of party's MPs | Percentage of female MPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Commons | 650 | 143 | 22% | 100% | |
| Conservative | 306 | 49 | 16% | 34% | |
| Labour | 258 | 81 | 31% | 57% | |
| Liberal Democrats | 57 | 7 | 12% | 5% | |
| DUP | 8 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| SNP | 6 | 1 | 17% | 0.7% | |
| Sinn Féin | 5 | 1 | 20% | 0.7% | |
| Plaid Cymru | 3 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| SDLP | 3 | 1 | 33% | 0.7% | |
| Alliance | 1 | 1 | 100% | 0.7% | |
| Green | 1 | 1 | 100% | 0.7% | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 100% | <1% | |
| Speaker |
1 | 0 | 0% | 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 Portfolio
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 (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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929–31 | Margaret Bondfield (Lab) | ||
| 1945–47 | Ellen Wilkinson (Lab) | ||
| 1953–54 | Florence Horsbrugh (Con) | ||
| 1964–70/74–76 | Barbara Castle (Lab) | ||
| 1968–69 | Judith Hart (Lab) | ||
| 1970–74/79–90 | Margaret Thatcher (Con) | ||
| 1974–79 | Shirley Williams (Lab) | ||
| 1982–83 | Baroness Young (Con) | ||
| 1992–97 | Gillian Shephard (Con) | ||
| 1992–97 | Virginia Bottomley (Con) | ||
| 1997–2007 (attended Cabinet 2008–09) |
Margaret Beckett (Lab) | ||
| 1997–2001 | Ann Taylor (Lab) | ||
| 1997–98/2007–10 | Harriet Harman (Lab) | ||
| 1997–2001 | Mo Mowlam (Lab) | ||
| 1997–2003 | Clare Short (Lab) | ||
| 1998–2001 | Baroness Jay of Paddington (Lab) | ||
| 2001–03 | Helen Liddell (Lab) | ||
| 2001–02 | Estelle Morris (Lab) | ||
| 2001–07 | Hilary Armstrong (Lab) | ||
| 2001–07 | Patricia Hewitt (Lab) | ||
| 2001–07/09–10 (attended Cabinet 2007–09) |
Tessa Jowell (Lab) | ||
| 2003–07 | Baroness Amos (Lab) | ||
| 2004–08 | Ruth Kelly (Lab) | ||
| 2006–09 | Hazel Blears (Lab) | ||
| 2006–09 | Jacqui Smith (Lab) | ||
| 2007–08 | Cathy Baroness Ashton of Upholland (Lab) | ||
| 2008–10 | Yvette Cooper (Lab) | ||
| 2008–10 | Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Lab) | ||
| 2010–12 | Caroline Spelman (Con) | ||
| 2010–12 | Cheryl Gillan (Con) | ||
| 2010–12 | Baroness Warsi (Con) | ||
| 2010–19 | Theresa May (Con) | ||
| 2011–18 | Justine Greening (Con) | ||
| 2012–14 | Maria Miller (Con) | ||
| 2012–16/19–20 | Theresa Villiers (Con) | ||
| 2014–16 (as Nicky Morgan)/19–20 | Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Con) | ||
| 2014–17/19–22 (attended Cabinet 2017–19) |
Liz Truss (Con) | ||
| 2014–16 | Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Con) | ||
| 2015–18/18–19 | Amber Rudd (Con) | ||
| 2016–22 | Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con) | ||
| 2016–19 | Karen Bradley (Con) | ||
| 2016–17/19–20 (attended Cabinet 2017–19) |
Andrea Leadsom (Con) | ||
| 2016–17/19–22 | Priti Patel (Con) | ||
| 2017–19/22– | Penny Mordaunt (Con) | ||
| 2018/19 (attended Cabinet 2019–20/23–) |
Esther McVey (Con) | ||
| 2019– | Thérèse Coffey (Con) | ||
| 2020/21–22 | Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Con) | ||
| 2021–22 | Nadine Dorries (Con) | ||
| 2022– (attended Cabinet 2021–22) |
Michelle Donelan (Con) | ||
| 2022– | Kemi Badenoch (Con) | ||
| 2022/22–23 (attended Cabinet 2020–21/21–22) |
Suella Braverman (Con) | ||
| 2022– | Gillian Keegan (Con) | ||
| 2022/23 | Chloe Smith (Con) | ||
| 2023– | Lucy Frazer (Con) | ||
| 2023– | Claire Coutinho (Con) | ||
| 2023– | Victoria Atkins (Con) | ||
| Women junior ministers in the Cabinet | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–69 | Judith Hart (Lab) | ||
| 2007–09 | Caroline Flint (Lab) | ||
| 2007–09 | Beverley Hughes (Lab) | ||
| 2007–10 | Baroness Scotland of Asthal (Lab) | ||
| 2009–10 | Dawn Primarolo (Lab) | ||
| 2009–10 | Rosie Winterton (Lab) | ||
| 2014–16 | Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con) | ||
| 2015–16 | Anna Soubry (Con) | ||
| 2018–19 | Caroline Nokes (Con) | ||
| 2018–19 | Claire Perry (Con) | ||
| 2020–21 | Amanda Milling (Con) | ||
| 2022 | Vicky Ford (Con) | ||
| 2022 | Wendy Morton (Con) | ||
| 2022– | Victoria Prentis (Con) | ||
| 2023– | Laura Trott (Con) | ||
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.[22] 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.[23]
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- 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
- CH. The first female MP to take her seat in the House of Commons. As the wife of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, she was known as Viscountess Astor throughout her Parliamentary career.
- Served as a Labour MP, 1973–1992.
- OM, PC, Hon. FSLL. First female Speaker of the House of Commons. She was made a life peer as Baroness Boothroyd, of Sandwell in the County of West Midlands, in 2001.
- Wife of Edward Castle, Baron Castle. She was made a life peer as Baroness Castle of Blackburn, in 1990.
- Served as a Labour MP, 1992–February 2019, then as a Change UK MP until Parliament dissolved for the 2019 general election in November 2019.
- Daughter of Morgan Phillips & Norah Phillips, Baroness Phillips. Mother of Tamsin Dunwoody.
- Twin sister of Angela Eagle, also a long-serving female MP.
- DBE. Served as a deputy speaker from 1992 to 1997. She was made a life peer as Baroness Fookes, of Plymouth in the county of Devon, in 1997.
- KC; former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and twice Acting Leader of the Opposition (2010, 2015). Widow of fellow Labour MP Jack Dromey.
- She was made a life peer as Baroness Hoey, of Lylehill and Rathlin in the County of Antrim, in 2020.
- DBE. First female Chairman of Ways and Means 2020–present; Deputy Speaker, 2013–present.
- Elected in 1929 from the Independent Labour Party. Married to fellow MP Anuerin Bevan. She was made a life peer as Baroness Lee of Asheridge, of the City of Westminster in 1970.[15]
- She was made a life peer as Baroness Lestor of Eccles, in 1997.
- Served as a Liberal MP for Anglesey, 1929-1951, then as a Labour MP for Carmarthen, 1957–1966.
- CM. Daughter of former Prime Minister David Lloyd George, himself an MP for 54 years, 10 months (continuous) and sister of Gwilym Lloyd George, Viscount Tenby (himself an MP for 27 years, 11 months combined).
- Second female Home Secretary, 2010–16; and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 2016–19.
- She was made a life peer as Baroness Primarolo, of Windmill Hill in the City of Bristol, in 2015.
- Served as a Labour MP, 1983–2006.
- CH. First female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She was made a life peer as Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire, in 1992.
- CH, DBE. She was made a life peer as Baroness Ward of North Tyneside, of North Tyneside in the County of Tyne and Wear, in 1975.
- DBE. Serving as a Deputy Speaker, 2017–present.
- On leave from 28 April to 20 July 2023.
- Heater, Derek (2006). Citizenship in Britain: A History. Edinburgh University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780748626724.
- Busby, Pamela; Busby, Mattha (13 December 2019). "UK elects record number of female MPs". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- Elise Uberoi; Alexander Bellis; Edward Hicks; Steven Browning (25 September 2019). "Women in Parliament and Government". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- "State of the parties". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- Elliot Chappell (31 December 2019). "51% of Labour MPs are women. What now for all-women shortlists?". LabourList. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- "Women and the vote: Orator Hunt and the first suffrage petition 1832". UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- "Women in parliament". BBC News. London: BBC. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- Samuel, Viscount (1950). Memoirs. p. 131.
- "Parliament (Qualification Of Women) Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 6 November 1918. col. 2186–2202. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- Cheltenham Chronicle, Gloucestershire, 8 December 1923
- "Women in the House of Commons". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- Wilkinson, Michael; Mendick, Robert (25 June 2016). "Pro-EU minister Justine Greening reveals she is gay at London Pride saying 'sometimes you are better off out'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- "Jewish Labour candidate: Party's antisemitism problem is 'more nuanced' than is alleged". The Jewish Chronicle. 9 December 2019. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019.
- "No. 45229". The London Gazette. 10 November 1970. p. 12333.
- Martin, George (13 February 2018). "Male MPs are 'blocking' the safe seats – forcing women to fight marginals". i. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- "Hundreds of seats effectively 'reserved' by men at Westminster, research shows". electoral-reform.org.uk. Electoral Reform Society. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- Allen, Grahame (15 January 2020). "General Election 2019: How many women were elected?". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- Lowther, Ed; Thornton, Charlotte (8 May 2015). "Election 2015: Number of women in Parliament rises by a third". BBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- "Members of the House of Commons". UK Parliament. 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- "Factsheet M4: Women in the House of Commons" (PDF). House of Commons Information Office. June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- Kelly, Richard; White, Isobel (7 March 2016). "All-women shortlists". Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- Rogers, Alexandra (7 March 2022). "Exclusive: Labour Drops All-Women Shortlists For Next General Election". HuffPost. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- "Women in the House of Commons inquiry". Women and Equalities Committee. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- "Women in the House of Commons (archived factsheets)". House of Commons Information Office, House of Commons Library. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- Vallance, Elizabeth M. (1979). Women in the House: a study of women Members of Parliament. Athlone Press. ISBN 9780485111866.
- All Party Parliamentary Group Women in Parliament (July 2014). "Improving Parliament: Creating a Better and More Representative House" (PDF). House of Commons. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- "Harman's office Thatcher U-turn". BBC News. London: BBC. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- "Women in Parliament and Government". House of Commons Library. 25 September 2019.
- "Parliament and Women". UK Parliament website.
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