FORMER WOMEN MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS BY PARTY
These tables list all former women MPs by party, beginning with Labour which has had the most (89), the Conservatives (55), and the Liberals, SDP, and Liberal Democrats. Independents and representatives of regional parties are included in the final table. The few women who sat for more than one party in parliament are listed twice, though Cynthia Mosley does not receive a separate listing as an MP for her husband’s short-lived New Party. A separate page of the Observatory lists all former women MPs by decade when first elected, and another lists all current women MPs.
Table 1a: Former women Labour MPs
Name / Constituency / DatesDorothy Jewson / Norwich / 1923-24
Susan Lawrence / East Ham North / 1923-24, 1926-31
Margaret Bondfield / Northampton, Wallsend (1926-) / 1923-24, 1926-31
Ellen Wilkinson / Middlesbrough East, Jarrow (1935-) / 1924-31, 1935-47
Ruth Dalton / Bishop Auckland / 1929
Ethel Bentham / Islington East / 1929-31
Mary Agnes Hamilton / Blackburn / 1929-31
Cynthia Mosley * / Stoke-on-Trent / 1929-31
Marion Phillips / Sunderland / 1929-31
Edith Picton-Turberville / The Wrekin / 1929-31
Jennie Lee / Lanarkshire North, Cannock (1945-) / 1929-31, 1945-70
Lady Noel-Buxton / Norfolk North, Norwich (1945-) / 1930-31, 1945-50
Leah Manning / Islington East, Epping (1945-) / 1931, 1945-50
Agnes Hardie / Glasgow Springburn / 1937-45
Jennie Adamson / Dartford / 1938-46
Edith Summerskill / Fulham West, Warrington (1955-) / 1938-61
Clarice Shaw / Ayrshire & Bute / 1945-46
Grace Colman / Tyneside / 1945-50
Barbara Gould / Hendon North / 1945-50
Muriel Nichol / Bradford North / 1945-50
Florence Paton / Rushcliffe / 1945-50
Mabel Ridealgh / Ilford North / 1945-50
Edith Wills / Birmingham Duddeston / 1945-50
Caroline Ganley / Battersea South / 1945-51
Lucy Middleton / Plymouth Sutton / 1945-51
Jean Mann / Coatbridge, Coatbridge & Airdrie (1950-) / 1945-59
Alice Bacon / Leeds North East, Leeds South East (1955-) / 1945-70
Bessie Braddock / Liverpool Exchange / 1945-70
Margaret Herbison / Lanarkshire North / 1945-70
Freda Corbet / Camberwell North West, Peckham (1950-) / 1945-Feb. 1974
Barbara Castle / Blackburn, Blackburn East (1950-5) / 1945-79
Alice Cullen / Glasgow Gorbals / 1948-69
Dorothy Rees / Barry / 1950-51
Elaine Burton / Coventry South / 1950-59
Eirene White / Flintshire East / 1950-70
Name / Constituency / Dates
Lena Jeger / Holborn & St Pancras / 1953-59, 1964-79
Harriet Slater / Stoke-on-Trent North / 1953-66
Joyce Butler / Wood Green / 1955-79
Megan Lloyd George ** / Camarthen / 1957-66
Mary McAlistair / Glasgow Kelvingrove / 1958-59
Judith Hart / Lanark, Clydesdale (1983-) / 1959-87
Anne Kerr / Rochester & Chatham / 1964-70
Margaret McKay / Clapham / 1964-70
Shirley Summerskill / Halifax / 1964-83
Renee Short / Wolverhampton North East / 1964-87
Shirley Williams *** / Hitchin, Hertford & Stevenage (1974-) / 1964-79
Joan Lestor / Eton & Slough, Eccles (1987-) / 1966-83, 1987-97
Gwyneth Dunwoody / Crewe & Nantwich / 1966-70; Feb 1974-2008
Doris Fisher / Birmingham Ladywood / 1970-Feb. 1974
Betty Boothroyd **** / West Bromwich, West Bromwich West (1974-) / 1973-1992
Millie Miller / Ilford North / Oct. 1974-77
Maureen Colquhoun / Northampton North / Feb. 1974-79
Helene Hayman / Welwyn & Hatfield / Oct. 1974-79
Ann Taylor / Bolton West, Dewsbury (1987-) / Oct. 1974-83, 1987-2005
Audrey Wise / Coventry South West, Preston (1987-) / Feb. 1974-79, 1987-2000
Joan Maynard / Sheffield Brightside / Oct. 1974-87
Jo Richardson / Barking / Feb. 1974-94
Oonagh McDonald / Thurrock / 1976-87
Sheila Wright / Birmingham Handsworth / 1979-83
Helen McElhone / Glasgow Queen's Park / 1982-83
Llin Golding / Newcastle-under-Lyme / 1986-2001
Maria Fyfe / Glasgow Maryhill / 1987-2001
Alice Mahon / Halifax / 1987-2005
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam / Redcar / 1987-2001
Mildred Gordon / Bow & Poplar / 1987-97
Joyce Quin / Gateshead East & Washington West / 1987-2005
Irene Adams / Paisley North / 1990-2005
Anne Campbell / Cambridge / 1992-2005
Jean Corston / Bristol East / 1992-2005
Helen Jackson / Sheffield Hillsborough / 1992-2005
Estelle Morris / Birmingham Yardley / 1992-2005
Barbara Roche / Hornsey & Wood Green / 1992-2005
Rachel Squire / Dunfermline West / 1992-2005
Judith Church / Dagenham / 1994-2001
Helen Liddell / Monklands East, Airdrie & Shotts / 1994-2005
Candy Atherton / Falmouth & Camborne / 1997-2005
Christine Butler / Castle Point / 1997-2001
Helen Clark (née Brinton) / Peterborough / 1997-2005
Lynda Clark / Edinburgh Pentlands / 1997-2005
Valerie Davey / Bristol West / 1997-2005
Julia Drown / South Swindon / 1997-2005
Lorna Fitzsimons / Rochdale / 1997-2005
Eileen Gordon / Romford / 1997-2001
Melanie Johnson / Welwyn Hatfield / 1997-2005
Fiona Jones / Newark / 1997-99, 1999-2001
Jenny Jones / Wolverhampton South West / 1997-2001
Oona King / Bethnal Green & Bow / 1997-2005
Tess Kingham / Gloucester / 1997-2001
Jackie Lawrence / Preseli Pembrokeshire / 1997-2005
Diana Organ / Forest of Dean / 1997-2005
Linda Perham / Ilford North / 1997-2005
Debra Shipley / Stourbridge / 1997-2005
* Cynthia Mosley and five others left the Labour Party in 1931 for the New Party.
** Previously a Liberal MP, see below.
***Later an SDP MP; see below.
**** Subsequently Speaker of the House of Commons, non-party MP for West Bromwich West 1992-2000
Table 1b: Labour MPs returned at general elections by gender[1]
Year / Women / Men / % Women1918 / 0 / 57 / 0
1922 / 0 / 142 / 0
1923 / 3 / 188 / 2
1924 / 1 / 150 / 1
1929 / 9 / 278 / 3
1931 / 0 / 52 / 0
1935 / 1 / 153 / 1
1945 / 21 / 372 / 5
1950 / 14 / 301 / 4
1951 / 11 / 284 / 4
1955 / 14 / 263 / 5
1959 / 13 / 245 / 5
1964 / 18 / 299 / 8
1966 / 19 / 345 / 5
1970 / 10 / 277 / 3
Feb. 1974 / 13 / 288 / 4
Oct. 1974 / 18 / 301 / 6
1979 / 11 / 257 / 4
1983 / 10 / 199 / 5
1987 / 21 / 208 / 9
1992 / 37 / 234 / 14
1997 / 101 / 317 / 24
2001 / 95 / 317 / 23
2005 / 98 / 518 / 30
Table 2a: Former women Conservative MPs
Name / Constituency / DatesViscountess Astor / Plymouth Sutton / 1919-45
Mabel Philipson / Berwick-upon-Tweed / 1923-29
Duchess of Atholl / Perth & Kinross / 1923-38
Countess of Iveagh / Southend-on-Sea / 1927-35
Mary Pickford / Hammersmith North / 1931-34
Ida Copeland / Stoke-on-Trent / 1931-35
Marjorie Graves / Hackney South / 1931-35
Norah Runge / Rotherhinthe / 1931-35
Helen Shaw / Bothwell / 1931-35
Sarah Ward / Cannock / 1931-35
Thelma Cazalet-Keir (Cazalet to 1939) / Islington East / 1931-45
Mavis Tate / Willesden West, Frome (1935-) / 1931-45
Florence Horsbrugh / Dundee, Manchester Moss Side (1950-) / 1931-45, 1950-59
Irene Ward / Wallsend, Tynemouth (1950-) / 1931-45,
1950-Feb. 1974
Viscountess Davidson / Hemel Hempstead / 1937-59
Beatrice Wright (Rathbone to 1942) / Bodmin / 1941-45
Lady Apsley / Bristol Central / 1943-45
Lady Tweedsmuir (Lady Grant to 1947) / Aberdeen South / 1946-66
Eveline Hill / Manchester Wythenshawe / 1950-64
Patricia Hornsby-Smith / Chislehurst / 1950-66,
1970-Feb. 1974
Edith Pitt / Birmingham Edgbaston / 1953-66
Evelyn Emmet / East Grinstead / 1955-64
Joan Vickers / Plymouth Devonport / 1955-Feb. 1974
Mervyn Pike / Melton / 1956-Feb. 1974
Lady Gammans / Hornsey / 1957-66
Betty Harvie Anderson / Renfrewshire East / 1959-79
Margaret Thatcher / Finchley / 1959-92
Joan Quennell / Petersfield / 1960-Feb. 1974
Jill Knight / Birmingham Edgbaston / 1966-97
Joan Hall / Keighley / 1970-Feb. 1974
Mary Holt / Preston North / 1970-Feb. 1974
Constance Monks / Chorley / 1970-Feb. 1974
Peggy Fenner / Rochester & Chatham, Medway (1983-) / 1970-Feb. 1974,
1979-97
Sally Oppenheim
(Oppenheim-Barnes from 1984) / Gloucester / 1970-87
Janet Fookes / Merton & Morden, Plymouth Drake (1974-) / 1970-97
Elaine Kellett-Bowman / Lancaster / 1970-97
Lynda Chalker / Wallasey / Feb. 1974-92
Sheila Faith / Belper / 1979-83
Angela Rumbold / Mitcham & Morden / 1982-97
Anna McCurley / Renfrew West & Inverclyde / 1983-87
Edwina Currie / Derbyshire South / 1983-97
Name / Constituency / Dates
Elizabeth Peacock / Batley & Spen / 1983-97
Marion Roe / Broxbourne / 1983-2005
Virginia Bottomley / Surrey South West / 1984-2005
Teresa Gorman / Billericay / 1987-2001
Emma Nicholson * / Devon West & Torridge / 1987-95
Maureen Hicks / Wolverhampton North East / 1987-92
Gillian Shepherd / Norfolk South West / 1987-2005
Judith Chaplin / Newbury / 1992-93
Angela Knight / Erewash / 1992-97
Olga Maitland / Sutton & Cheam / 1992-97
* Subsequently a Liberal Democrat MP; see below.
Table 2b: Conservative MPs returned at general elections by gender[2]
Year / Women / Men / % Women1918 / 0 / 359 / 0
1922 / 1 / 333 / 0.2
1923 / 2 / 246 / 1
1924 / 3 / 397 / 1
1929 / 4 / 246 / 2
1931 / 13 / 446 / 3
1935 / 6 / 370 / 2
1945 / 1 / 188 / 1
1950 / 6 / 282 / 2
1951 / 6 / 306 / 2
1955 / 9 / 326 / 3
1959 / 11 / 342 / 3
1964 / 11 / 281 / 4
1966 / 7 / 235 / 3
1970 / 15 / 315 / 5
Feb. 1974 / 9 / 287 / 3
Oct. 1974 / 7 / 269 / 3
1979 / 8 / 331 / 2
1983 / 13 / 384 / 3
1987 / 17 / 358 / 5
1992 / 20 / 310 / 6
1997 / 13 / 152 / 8
2001 / 14 / 152 / 8
2005 / 17 / 180 / 8
Table 3a: Former Liberal, SDP, and Liberal Democrat women MPs
Name / Party / Constituency / DatesMargaret Wintringham / Liberal / Louth / 1921-24
Lady Terrington / Liberal / Wycombe / 1923-24
Hilda Runciman / Liberal / St Ives / 1928-29
Megan Lloyd George * / Liberal / Anglesey / 1929-51
Elizabeth Shields / Liberal / Ryedale / 1986-87
Shirley Williams * / SDP / Crosby / 1981-83
Rosie Barnes ** / SDP, Social Democrat (1990-) / Greenwich / 1987-92
Ray Michie / Liberal, SLDP (1988-89) Liberal Democrat / Argyll & Bute / 1987-2001
Liz Lynne / Liberal Democrat / Rochdale / 1992-97
Diana Maddock / Liberal Democrat / Christchurch / 1993-97
Emma Nicholson *** / Liberal Democrat / Devon West & Torridge / 1995-97
Jackie Ballard / Liberal Democrat / Taunton / 1997-2001
Jenny Tonge / Liberal Democrat / Richmond Park / 1997-2005
Sue Doughty / Liberal Democrat / Guildford / 2001-2005
Patsy Calton / Liberal Democrat / Cheadle / 2001-2005
* Also Labour MP; see above.
** Rosie Barnes continued to sit as a Social Democrat after the party was dissolved in 1990.
*** Also Conservative MP; see above.
Table 3b: Liberal, SDP, and Liberal Democrat MPs returned at general elections by gender[3]
Year / Women / Men / % Women1918 / 0 / 163 / 0
1922 / 1 / 114 / 1
1923 / 2 / 156 / 1
1924 / 0 / 40 / 0
1929 / 1 / 58 / 2
1931 / 1 / 71 / 1
1935 / 1 / 20 / 5
1945 / 1 / 11 / 8
1950 / 1 / 8 / 13
1951 / 0 / 6 / 0
1955 / 0 / 6 / 0
1959 / 0 / 6 / 0
1964 / 0 / 9 / 0
1966 / 0 / 12 / 0
1970 / 0 / 6 / 0
Feb. 1974 / 0 / 14 / 0
Oct. 1974 / 0 / 13 / 0
1979 / 0 / 11 / 0
1983 / 0 (0) / 17 (6) / 0 (0)
1987 / 1 (1) / 16 (4) / 6 (20)
1992 / 2 / 19 / 10
1997 / 3 / 43 / 7
2001 / 5 / 47 / 10
2005 / 10 / 52 / 16
Table 4: Former women independents and MPs for regional parties
Name / Party / Constituency / DatesEleanor Rathbone / Independent / Combined English Universities / 1929-46
Bernadette Devlin
(McAliskey from 1973) / Independent Unity / Mid Ulster / 1969-Feb. 1974
Winifred Ewing / SNP / Hamilton, Moray & Nairn (1974-) / 1967-70, Feb. 1974-79
Margo MacDonald / SNP / Glasgow Govan / 1973-Feb. 1974
Margaret Ewing
(Margaret Bain 1974-79) / SNP / Dunbartonshire East, Moray (1987-) / Oct. 1974-79, 1987-2001
Roseanna Cunningham / SNP / Perth / 1995-2001
Annabelle Ewing / SNP / Perth / 2001-05
Constance Markievicz / Sinn Féin / Dublin St Patrick's / 1918-22
Patricia Ford / UUP / North Down / 1953-55
Patricia McLaughlin / UUP / West Belfast / 1955-64
Copyright © Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics 2001
19-21 University Square, Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast, N. Ireland, BT7 1PA
[1] The figures for 1918, 1931, and 1935 do not include the few Labour ‘coupon candidates’ or National Labour MPs who in each case were elected as supporters of the coalition governments.
[2] The figures do not include Unionists who accepted the Conservative Whip in the Commons; former UUP women MPs are listed in Table 4. The 1918 results include coalition and non-coalition Conservatives, while National Liberals are included in the totals for 1950 to 1966, when the parties had joint constituency associations.
[3]The figures for 1918-22 include followers of Asquith and Lloyd George while the 1931 results include the National Liberals, who subsequently sat with the Conservatives. The bracketed figures represent the SDP.