435 Members of Parliament (67%) have children, [1] and politians have been single parents across the history of UK governance. However, research has shown that 'women in politics are less likely to be mothers than men in politics are to be fathers', [2] and that women in the House of Commons are generally more likely to be unmarried, childless or have fewer children than men in parliament. [3] New parents who are politicians in the House of Commons do not have access to a formal system of maternity or paternity leave. [4] When they are permitted to be at home, their constituencies are effectively unrepresented. [1] Before 2020, Members of Parliament were expected to return to the chamber in-person to vote when their babies are only a few days old. Proxy voting was formally introduced in 2020 for MPs who had a baby or adopted a child. [4]
Constance Georgine Markievicz, also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the first woman elected to the Westminster Parliament. She was elected Minister for Labour in the First Dáil, becoming the second female cabinet minister in Europe. She served as a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South constituency from 1921 to 1922 and 1923 to 1927. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Dublin St Patrick's from 1918 to 1922.
Constance Ann Cryer JP is a British former politician who was the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Keighley from the 1997 general election up until she stood down at the 2010 general election.
Michelle Gildernew is an Irish Sinn Féin politician from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, having been re-elected in June 2017 after previously holding the seat from 2001 to 2015.
Margaret Wintringham was a British Liberal Party politician. She was the second woman, and the first British-born woman, to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Kathleen Florence Lynn was an Irish Sinn Féin politician, activist and medical doctor.
Markievicz Park is the principal GAA stadium in County Sligo, Ireland, home to the Sligo Gaelic football and hurling teams. Built in 1955 in Sligo town, it is named after Constance Markievicz, one of the participants of the 1916 Easter Rising, the first woman elected to Dáil Éireann and the first female elected to the British parliament, although she refused to take up her seat there.
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.
Stella Judith Creasy is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the London constituency of Walthamstow since 2010.
Sarah Deborah Champion is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rotherham since 2012.
Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport since 2023. A member of the Labour Party, she was previously Shadow Secretary of State for Housing from 2020 to 2021 and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from 2021 to 2023. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol West at the 2015 general election, when she defeated the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams.
Miriam Jane Alice Davies, known as Mims Davies, is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Sussex since 2019. She has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People, Health and Work since December 2023. She previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression from October 2022 to December 2023 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding from September to October 2022.
Ofunne Kate Osamor is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton since 2015. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she was Shadow Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2018. She is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
Elizabeth Saville Roberts is a Welsh politician, serving as the group leader of Plaid Cymru in the House of Commons since 2017. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dwyfor Meirionnydd since the 2015 general election.
Carla Rebecca Lockhart is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper Bann since the 2019 general election, currently serving as the DUP Spokesperson for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. She was previously a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Upper Bann, elected at the 2016 election, until 2019.
Rosemary Clare Duffield is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Canterbury since 2017.
Lloyd Cameron Russell-Moyle is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in the 2017 general election. He is a member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
Kate Elizabeth Kniveton is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Burton in Staffordshire since 2019. She is a member of the Conservative Party. She was elected to Parliament under her married name of Griffiths but reverted to using her maiden name in 2022.
Apsana Begum is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Poplar and Limehouse since 2019.
Miriam Joy Cates is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Penistone and Stocksbridge since the 2019 general election. She is a member of the Conservative Party.
Annalissa Firth is a British politician and former barrister who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West since the 2022 by-election. A member of the Conservative Party, she was also a councillor on Sevenoaks District Council between 2011 and 2022.