Women MPs & parliamentary candidates since 1945
The chart below shows the number of female Members of Parliament from each party elected in UK general elections from 1945—2015. The x (horizontal) axis shows the election year, and the y (vertical) axis the number of women who won seats.
Chart: Women MPs since 1945 by Party
The table below shows the number of female Members of Parliament elected in each UK general election since 1945; the percentage of female MPs; how many women were elected from each party; and the total number of female candidates standing for election.
| Election Year | Female MPs | % | Con | Lab | Lib | Others | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | 24 | 3.8 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 87 |
| 1950 | 21 | 3.4 | 6 | 14 | 1 | – | 127 |
| 1951 | 17 | 2.7 | 6 | 11 | – | – | 77 |
| 1955 | 24 | 3.8 | 10 | 14 | – | – | 92 |
| 1959 | 25 | 4 | 12 | 13 | – | – | 81 |
| 1964 | 29 | 4.6 | 11 | 18 | – | – | 90 |
| 1966 | 26 | 4.1 | 7 | 19 | – | – | 81 |
| 1970 | 26 | 4.1 | 15 | 10 | – | 1 | 99 |
| 1974 (Feb) | 23 | 3.6 | 9 | 13 | – | 1 | 143 |
| 1974 (Oct) | 27 | 4.3 | 7 | 18 | – | 2 | 161 |
| 1979 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 11 | – | – | 216 |
| 1983 | 23 | 3.5 | 13 | 10 | – | – | 280 |
| 1987 | 41 | 6.3 | 17 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 329 |
| 1992 | 60 | 9.2 | 20 | 37 | 2 | 1 | 571 |
| 1997 | 120 | 18.2 | 13 | 101 | 3 | 3 | 672 |
| 2001 | 118 | 17.9 | 14 | 95 | 5 | 4 | 636 |
| 2005 | 128 | 20 | 17 | 98 | 10 | 3 | 720 |
| 2010 | 143 | 22 | 49 | 81 | 7 | 6 | 861 |
| 2015 | 191 | 29 | 68 | 99 | 0 | 24 | 1,033 |
Note: Data for Lib Dems includes Liberal/SDP/Alliance. Candidates includes all parties
Source: House of Commons Research Papers 01/75, 05/33 & 10/36, Fawcett Society.
