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 (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.

Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the British Parliament.

Between 1918 and 2024, a total of 693 women have been elected as Members of the House of Commons. As of July 2024 there are 263 women in the House of Commons, the highest ever.^[2] This is an all-time high at 40%. The previous number was 220, set in 2019, which accounted for 35% of members elected or re-elected that year.^[3] Additionally, at the 2024 general election the most female Labour MPs were elected or re-elected (190 women in total) – another instance in Labour's history that this has happened, after 119 in 2017. The female member of Parliament with the longest period of continuous service is informally known as the Mother of the House, who is Diane Abbott, following the 2024 election.^[4]

Suffrage

Main article: Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom

In 1832 Henry Hunt became the first MP to raise the issue of women's suffrage in the House of Commons,^[5] followed in 1867 by John Stuart Mill. Following this attempts were made to widen the franchise in every Parliament.^[6]

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.^[7] This bill did not specify any age restriction, unlike the voting bill.^[8] 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.^[9]

Landmarks and records

Further information: Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom § Women

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.^[10] 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.^[11]
• 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 2025 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)^[12] – 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),^[13] and hijab-wearing member (Apsana Begum) – 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 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
• 2024: Former prime minister to lose re-election (Liz Truss) – Conservative Party
• 2024: First female Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves) – Labour Party
• 2024: Ethnic minority deputy speaker (Nus Ghani) – Conservative Party
• 2024: Ethnic minority leader of the opposition and also her party's youngest female parliamentary leader (Kemi Badenoch) – Conservative Party

Records

See also: Mother of the House (United Kingdom) and List of female members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom

Margaret Beckett has been 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 served as MP for Derby South from 9 June 1983 until 30 May 2024.

Harriet Harman has been 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 served as MP for Camberwell and Peckham from 1 May 1997 to 30 May 2024. 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 more than 25 years' service

As of 2024, there are 36 women (out of a total of 693) who have served 25 years or more service in the House of Commons, either continuously or cumulatively.

Party		Name	Constituency	Year elected	Year left	Length of continuous term	Length of cumulative term
	Labour	Diane Abbott[a]	Hackney North and Stoke Newington	1987	Still serving	38 years, 2 months	38 years, 2 months
	Conservative	Nancy Astor[b]	Plymouth Sutton	1919	1945	25 years, 6 months	25 years, 6 months
	Labour	Margaret Beckett[c]	Lincoln & Derby South	1974 & 1983	1979 & 2024	42 years, 2 months	46 years, 8 months
	Speaker[d]	Betty Boothroyd[e]	West Bromwich & West Bromwich West	1973	2000	27 years, 4 months	27 years, 4 months
	Labour	Karen Buck	Regent's Park and Kensington North & Westminster North	1997	2024	27 years	27 years
	Labour	Barbara Castle[f]	Blackburn East & Blackburn	1945	1979	33 years, 9 months	33 years, 9 months
	Labour	Ann Clwyd[g]	Cynon Valley	1984	2019	35 years, 6 months	35 years, 6 months
	Change UK[h]	Ann Coffey	Stockport	1992	2019	27 years, 6 months	27 years, 6 months
	Labour	Yvette Cooper[g]	Pontefract and Castleford, Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford & Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley	1997	Still serving	28 years, 3 months	28 years, 3 months
	Labour	Freda Corbet	Camberwell North West & Peckham	1945	1974	28 years, 7 months	28 years, 7 months
	Labour	Gwyneth Dunwoody[i]	Exeter, Crewe & Crewe and Nantwich	1966 & 1974	1970 & 2008	34 years, 1 month	38 years, 3 months
	Labour	Angela Eagle[j]	Wallasey	1992	Still serving	33 years, 4 months	33 years, 4 months
	Labour	Maria Eagle[k][g]	Liverpool Garston & Garston and Halewood	1997	Still serving	28 years, 3 months	28 years, 3 months
	Conservative	Janet Fookes[l]	Merton and Morden & Plymouth Drake	1970	1997	26 years, 9 months	26 years, 9 months
	Conservative	Cheryl Gillan[j]	Chesham and Amersham	1992	2021	28 years, 11 months	28 years, 11 months
	Labour	Harriet Harman[m]	Peckham & Camberwell and Peckham	1982	2024	41 years, 7 months	41 years, 7 months
	Labour	Judith Hart[n]	Lanark & Clydesdale	1959	1987	27 years, 7 months	27 years, 7 months
	Labour	Margaret Hodge[o]	Barking	1994	2024	29 years, 11 months	29 years, 11 months
	Labour	Kate Hoey[p]	Vauxhall	1989	2019	30 years, 4 months	30 years, 4 months
	Conservative	Elaine Kellett-Bowman[q]	Lancaster	1970	1997	26 years, 9 months	26 years, 9 months
	Conservative	Jill Knight[r]	Birmingham Edgbaston	1966	1997	31 years	31 years
	Conservative	Eleanor Laing[s]	Epping Forest	1997	2024	27 years	27 years
	Labour	Jennie Lee[t]	North Lanarkshire & Cannock	1929 & 1945	1931 & 1970	24 years, 10 months	27 years, 6 months
	Labour	Joan Lestor[u]	Eton and Slough & Eccles	1966 & 1987	1983 & 1997	17 years, 1 month	26 years, 11 months
	Labour[v]	Megan Lloyd George[w]	Anglesey & Carmarthen	1929 & 1957	1951 & 1966	22 years, 4 months	31 years, 6 months
	Conservative	Theresa May[x]	Maidenhead	1997	2024	27 years	27 years
	Labour	Siobhain McDonagh[j]	Mitcham and Morden	1997	Still serving	28 years, 3 months	28 years, 3 months
	Labour	Dawn Primarolo[y]	Bristol South	1987	2015	27 years, 9 months	27 years, 9 months
	Labour	Joan Ruddock[j]	Lewisham Deptford	1987	2015	27 years, 9 months	27 years, 9 months
	Independent[z]	Clare Short[aa]	Birmingham Ladywood	1983	2010	26 years, 10 months	26 years, 10 months
	Labour	Ann Taylor[ab]	Bolton West & Dewsbury	1974 & 1987	1983 & 2005	17 years, 10 months	26 years, 5 months
	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher[ac]	Finchley	1959	1992	32 years, 5 months	32 years, 5 months
	Labour	Joan Walley	Stoke-on-Trent North	1987	2015	27 years, 9 months	27 years, 9 months
	Conservative	Irene Ward[ad]	Wallsend & Tynemouth	1931 & 1950	1945 & 1974	23 years, 11 months	37 years, 7 months
	Conservative	Ann Winterton	Congleton	1983	2010	26 years, 10 months	26 years, 10 months
	Labour	Rosie Winterton[ae]	Doncaster Central	1997	2024	27 years	27 years

Current representation

As of May 2025, there are 264 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[15]	650	264	41%	100%
	Labour	402	186	46%	70%
	Conservative	121	29	24%	11%
	Liberal Democrats	72	32	44%	12%
	SNP	9	1	11%	<1%
	Sinn Féin	7	2	29%	<1%
	DUP	5	1	20%	<1%
	Reform UK	5	1	20%	<1%
	Plaid Cymru	4	3	75%	1%
	Green	4	3	75%	1%
	SDLP	2	1	50%	<1%
	Alliance	1	1	100%	<1%
	TUV	1	0	0%	0%
	UUP	1	0	0%	0%
	Independent	15	4	27%	2%
	Speaker	1	0	0%	0%

Further information: List of MPs elected in the 2024 United Kingdom general election and List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority (2024–present)

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 have been 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]

Winner's gender by number of MPs^[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)[15]	650	220	430	33.9%	66.1%
2024 or before	650	263	387	40.5%	59.5%

Current female Cabinet members (Labour Party)

• Angela Rayner – Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Bridget Phillipson – Secretary of State for Education
• Lucy Powell – Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council
• Lisa Nandy – Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
• Rachel Reeves – Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Yvette Cooper – Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Shabana Mahmood – Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
• The Baroness Smith of Basildon – Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
• Liz Kendall – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
• Heidi Alexander – Secretary of State for Transport
• Jo Stevens – Secretary of State for Wales

Historic representation

See also: Timeline of female MPs in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom

2024 election

Female Cabinet members appointed after the 2024 election

• Louise Haigh – Secretary of State for Transport

2019 election

Further information: List of MPs elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election and List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority (2019–2024)

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]

As elected in the 2019 general 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^[af] - Attorney General for England and Wales (2020–22)^[ag]/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)/Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2022–23)/Science, Innovation and Technology^[ah] (2023–24)
• 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)
• Kemi Badenoch – Secretary of State for International Trade (2022–23)/Business and Trade (2023–24)/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
• Lucy Frazer – Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
• Claire Coutinho – Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (2023–24)
• Victoria Atkins – Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (2023–24)

2017 election

Further information: List of MPs elected in the 2017 United Kingdom general election and List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority (2017–2019)

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]

As elected in the 2017 general election^[19][20]

	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

Further information: List of MPs elected in the 2015 United Kingdom general election and List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority (2015–2017)

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%
	UUP	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

Further information: List of MPs elected in the 2010 United Kingdom general election and List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority (2010–2015)

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%

^[21]

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

	Period	Name (Party)	Image
	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	Baroness Ashton of Upholland (Lab)
	2008–10/24–	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)
	2017–19/22–24	Penny Mordaunt (Con)
	2018/19 (attended Cabinet 2019–20/23–24)	Esther McVey (Con)
	2019–24	Thérèse Coffey (Con)
	2020/21–22	Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Con)
	2021–22	Nadine Dorries (Con)
	2022–24 (attended Cabinet 2021–22)	Michelle Donelan (Con)
	2022–24	Kemi Badenoch (Con)
	2022/22–23 (attended Cabinet 2020–21/21–22)	Suella Braverman (Con)
	2022–24	Gillian Keegan (Con)
	2022/23	Chloe Smith (Con)
	2023–24	Lucy Frazer (Con)
	2023–24	Claire Coutinho (Con)
	2023–24	Victoria Atkins (Con)
	2024–	Heidi Alexander (Lab)
	2024	Louise Haigh (Lab)
	2024–	Liz Kendall (Lab)
	2024–	Shabana Mahmood (Lab)
	2024–	Lisa Nandy (Lab)
	2024–	Bridget Phillipson (Lab)
	2024–	Lucy Powell (Lab)
	2024–	Angela Rayner (Lab)
	2024–	Rachel Reeves (Lab)
	2024–	Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)
	2024–	Jo Stevens (Lab)

Women junior ministers in the Cabinet

	Period	Name (Party)	Image
	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)
	2022–24	Victoria Prentis (Con)
	2023–24	Laura Trott (Con)
	2024–	Anneliese Dodds (Lab)
	2024–	Ellie Reeves (Lab)

All-women shortlists

Main article: All-women shortlist

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 2024 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]

See also

• Politics portal
• United Kingdom portal

• 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
• Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom

Notes

1. PC. First and longest–serving female BME MP in British history.
2. 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.
3. DBE, later GBE. She was made a life peer as Baroness Beckett, of Old Normanton in the City of Derby, in 2024.
4. Served as a Labour MP, 1973–1992.
5. 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.
6. Wife of Edward Castle, Baron Castle. She was made a life peer as Baroness Castle of Blackburn, in 1990.
7. PC
8. 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.
9. Daughter of Morgan Phillips & Norah Phillips, Baroness Phillips. Mother of Tamsin Dunwoody.
10. DBE
11. Twin sister of Angela Eagle, also a long-serving female MP.
12. 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.
13. 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 Harman, in 2024.
14. DBE. She was made a life peer as Baroness Hart of South Lanark, in 1988.
15. DBE. She was made a life peer as Baroness Hodge of Barking, of Great Massingham in the County of Norfolk, in 2024.
16. She was made a life peer as Baroness Hoey, of Lylehill and Rathlin in the County of Antrim, in 2020.
17. Order of the British Empire
18. DBE. She was made a life peer as Baroness Knight of Collingtree, in 1997.
19. DBE. First female Chairman of Ways and Means 2020–2024; Deputy Speaker, 2013–2024. She was made a life peer as Baroness Laing of Elderslie, in 2024.
20. 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.^[14]
21. She was made a life peer as Baroness Lestor of Eccles, in 1997.
22. Served as a Liberal MP for Anglesey, 1929-1951, then as a Labour MP for Carmarthen, 1957–1966.
23. 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).
24. Second female Home Secretary, 2010–16; and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 2016–19. She was made a life peer as Baroness May of Maidenhead, in the County of Berkshire, in 2024.
25. She was made a life peer as Baroness Primarolo, of Windmill Hill in the City of Bristol, in 2015.
26. Served as a Labour MP, 1983–2006.
27. PC
28. PC. She was made a life peer as Baroness Taylor of Bolton, in 2005.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. DBE. Served as a Deputy Speaker, 2017–2024. She was made a life peer as Baroness Winterton of Doncaster, of Doncaster in the County of South Yorkshire, in 2024.
32. On leave from 2 March to 10 September 2021
33. Attended Cabinet meetings, but not official Cabinet minister
34. On leave from 28 April to 20 July 2023.