Beatrice Plummer, Baroness Plummer (14 April 1903 - 13 June 1972) was a British peeress.
She was the daughter of Meyer Lapsker and in 1923 married Sir Leslie Plummer. She and her husband both held titles in their own right.
Beatrice Plummer was a Justice of the Peace for Essex from 1947 and was created a life peer as Baroness Plummer, of Toppesfield in the County of Essex on 10 May 1965. [1] She was one of the first Jews to be made a life peer. [2] She was a member of the Independent Television Authority, 1966–1971 and of the British Agricultural Export Council.
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Gillian Joanna Merron, Baroness Merron is a British politician and life peer serving as Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews since 2014. A member of the Labour Party, she has been serving as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health since 2024. She served as the shadow spokesperson for Health and Social Care from 2021 to 2024. She was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln from 1997 till 2010 and held several ministerial offices in the Blair and Brown governments.
Angela Evans Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon is a British politician and life peer serving as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal since 2024. A member of the Labour and Co-operative Parties, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Basildon from 1997 to 2010.
Joan Christabel Jill Knight, Baroness Knight of Collingtree, was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1966 to 1997. She was created a life peer as "Baroness Knight of Collingtree, of Collingtree in the County of Northamptonshire" in 1997 after she had stood down at that year's general election, and retired from the House of Lords on 24 March 2016.
Ruth Lynn Deech, Baroness Deech, DBE is a British academic, lawyer, bioethicist and politician, most noted for chairing the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), from 1994 to 2002, and as the former Principal of St Anne's College, Oxford. Deech sits as a Crossbench peer in the House of Lords (2005–) and chaired the Bar Standards Board (2009–2014).
Haleh Afshar, Baroness Afshar, was a British life peer in the House of Lords. She had a life-long interest in women's rights and Islamic law. She was a professor at the University of York and she wrote over a dozen scholarly books.
Shreela Flather, Baroness Flather, was a British politician, teacher and life peer.
Norah Mary Phillips, Baroness Phillips, JP was a British Labour Party politician.
Patricia Elizabeth Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings is a Conservative Party politician and former frontbencher in the House of Lords. She was also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1989 to 1994. She was Chairman of King's College London Council from 1998 to 2007, and was made a Fellow of King's College (FKC) in 2003. She was President of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations from 2002 to 2007, and President of the British Antique Dealers' Association 2005–2013. She is also a trustee of the Chevening Estate.
Ruth Beatrice Henig, Baroness Henig, was a British academic historian and Labour politician.
Barbara Frances Wootton, Baroness Wootton of Abinger, CH was a British sociologist and criminologist. She was the first of four women to be appointed as a life peer, entitled to serve in the House of Lords, under the Life Peerages Act 1958, after the names of the holders of the first 14 life peerages to be created had been announced on 24 July. She was President of the British Sociological Association from 1959 to 1964.
Anne Gibson, Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen, was a British trade unionist, Labour peer and author of several pamphlets about industrial laws.
Beatrice Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear was a British social scientist and politician. She was leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords from 1984 to 1988, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 1988 to 1997. She was also appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1985.
Felicity Jane Ewart-Biggs, Baroness Ewart-Biggs was a British politician and wife to the British Ambassador to Ireland, Christopher Ewart-Biggs, who was murdered in office. She was President of the British Committee of UNICEF and became a life peer in 1981, later serving as the Labour Party's spokesperson on home affairs, consumer affairs and overseas development.
Beryl Catherine Platt, Baroness Platt of WrittleHonFIMechE was a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords. Her background was in engineering, and she worked in aeronautics and aviation safety. She retained a strong interest in science and technology, particularly the role and advancement of women in these fields.
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 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.
Anne Caroline Jenkin, Baroness Jenkin of Kennington is a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
Margot Ruth Aline Lister, Baroness Lister of Burtersett,, is currently Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough University. She has written or contributed to a number of books, pamphlets and articles on poverty, social security and women's citizenship.