Groundbreaking Women in Parliament
First female MP elected, 1918
Countess Constance de Markievicz won her seat in Parliament as Sinn Fein MP for the St Patrick's division of Dublin. At the time she was in prison under suspicion of being involved with German conspirators during the First World War. Even after her release she never took up her seat in Parliament due to Sinn Fein's boycott in response to the British government's policies in Ireland at the time.
First female MP to sit in Parliament, 1919
Nancy Astor was the first elected female MP who sat in Parliament. She was the Conservative MP for Plymouth Sutton until 1945. Her maiden speech commented on the concern felt by some due to a woman being elected to Parliament and the importance of breaking new ground.
First female minister, 1924
First female member of the cabinet, 1929
Margaret Bondfield: As the Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Labour, Margaret Bondfield was the first woman to hold a ministerial position in government. She was then promoted by prime minister Ramsay MacDonald in 1929 as the Minister for Labour, also making her the first female member of the cabinet.
First female Life Peer, 1958
Baroness Wootton of Abinger: With the passage of the Life Peerages Act in 1958 women were allowed to sit in the House of Lords. Baroness Wootton of Abinger was the first female Life Peer created and served until her death in 1988. She was also the first woman to sit on the woolsack in the House of Lords, as Deputy Chairman of Committees in 1965. The woolsack is a large cushion filled with wool where the Lord Speaker sits during debates.
First female Hereditary Peer, 1963
Baroness Strange of Knokin: Traditionally, hereditary titles passed from father to son, so it wasn't until the 1963 Peerage Act that women were allowed to inherit their father's roles in the House of Lords. Baroness Strange of Knokin was the first woman to do this in 1963 after the Act was passed.
The Act also allowed all Scottish peers to sit whereas previously only a small number had been allowed to take part in the business of the House of Lords.
First female prime minister, 1979
Margaret Thatcher: As well as being the first British female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher was also the longest serving prime minister of the 20th Century. She was in office for 11 years and 209 days.
First female leader of the House of Lords, 1981
Baroness Young: Baroness Janet Mary Young was the first woman to hold this role, which she did for two years from 1981-1983. The Leader of the House of Lords is responsible for organising the business of the House and represents the House of Lords on formal occasions.
First female Speaker of the House of Commons, 1992
Betty Boothroyd: The first and, so far, only female Speaker of the House of Commons, Betty Boothroyd held this post for 12 years. The Speaker keeps order and oversees the business of the House of Commons.
First female Law Lord, 2004
Baroness Hale of Richmond was appointed as a Law Lord in 2004. The Law Lords were moved to a newly-formed Supreme Court in 2009. She is still the most senior female judge in the UK.
First Lord Speaker, 2006
Baroness Hayman: The role of the Lord Speaker was established after the Constitutional Reform Act was passed in 2005. Baroness Hayman was appointed to the role making her the first woman in this role or the Lord Chancellor's post which preceded it.
Longest continuously serving female MP, 1945-1979
Barbara Castle: Barbara Castle was elected as MP for Blackburn in 1945 and during her 34-year parliamentary career held a number of ministerial posts. She then went on to become a Member of the European Parliament until 1989, making her career as a politician span a total of 44 years!
Youngest ever female MP elected, 1969
Bernadette Devlin was elected in the 1969 general election aged 21 making her, to this day, the youngest female MP ever elected. She represented Mid-Ulster for 5 years until 1974.
First twin sister MPs, 1997
Angela and Maria Eagle: Angela Eagle was elected in 1992 as the MP for Wallasey and was joined by her sister, Maria Eagle, in 1997 when she was elected as MP for Garston and Halewood.