The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
Janet Evelyn Fookes, Baroness Fookes, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, she is a life peer in the House of Lords. She was previously a member of the House of Commons from 1970 to 1997, representing the constituencies of Merton and Morden (1970–74) and Plymouth Drake (1974–97). She was a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 1997, and presently is a Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords.
Peta Jane Buscombe, Baroness Buscombe is an English barrister, regulator and politician. She is a Conservative member of the House of Lords. Lady Buscombe was Chief Executive of the Advertising Association from 2007 to 2009. She served as Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission from April 2009 until 16 October 2011.
Doreen Elizabeth Massey, Baroness Massey of Darwen, was a British life peer and a Labour member of the House of Lords.
Elizabeth Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, is a British Labour politician and life peer. She was Chair of English Heritage from July 2009 to July 2013.
Patricia Lesley Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, PC, DL was a historian and a Labour member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom.
Margaret Beryl Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch is a British Labour Peer and previously a trade union official and Labour politician. She was Chair of the Labour Party from 2000 to 2001. She has served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation and as a Baroness in Waiting since July 2024.
Maeve Christina Mary Sherlock, Baroness Sherlock, is a British politician serving as a Member of the House of Lords since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she is an ordained priest of the Church of England.
Elizabeth Margaret Smith, Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill,, is a British peer and patron of the arts. She is the widow of John Smith, who led the Labour Party from 1992 to 1994.
Dianne Hayter, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town is a British politician serving as a Member of the House of Lords since 2010. A member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, she was Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords from 2017 to 2021.
Margaret Theresa Prosser, Baroness Prosser, is a Labour life peer and former trade unionist.
Muriel Winifred Turner, Baroness Turner of Camden was a British Labour politician and trade union leader.
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.
Rita Margaret Donaghy, Baroness Donaghy, CBE, FRSA is a British university administrator, trade unionist and Labour life peer in the House of Lords.
Deborah Stedman-Scott, Baroness Stedman-Scott, is a Conservative member of the House of Lords and the former Chief Executive Officer of Tomorrow's People Trust. She had served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2019 until 2023.
Claire Tyler, Baroness Tyler of Enfield, is a Liberal Democrat life peer in the House of Lords.
Lucy Jeanne Neville-Rolfe, Baroness Neville-Rolfe is a British businesswoman and politician who served as Minister of State at the Cabinet Office from September 2022 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she served in ministerial positions under prime ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. In December 2021, she was appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to lead the statutory review into the state pension age.
Alison Mary Suttie, Baroness Suttie is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She was appointed a life peer in the House of Lords in September 2013. A party whip, she is a member of the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs team. She is also a trustee on the board of IPPR.
Shaista Ahmad Sheehan, Baroness Sheehan is a British politician and life peer. She was nominated for a life peerage by Nick Clegg in August 2015.
