Fawcett comments on the increase in women MPs

8 MAY 2015

The Fawcett Society has welcomed the increase in women representatives in Parliament following the 2015 General Election.

Commenting, Belinda Phipps, Fawcett Chair said:

“We are really pleased that there has been an increase, albeit a small increase, in women MPs in the House of Commons. We know that when women are part of the legislative and decision-making process, better decisions are made.

“We particularly welcome the fact that the parties are turning to women to lead the way, with two new party leaders in Harriet Harman for Labour and Suzanne Evans for UKIP. Together with Nicola Sturgeon, Natalie Bennett and Leanne Wood, that makes women a formidable force in the new political world.”

The breakdown as Fawcett sees it to date:

Party	Number of women MPs	Percentage 2015	Percentage 2010
Conservative	64	19.4%	15.8%
Labour	100	43%	33.7%
Lib Dems	0	0%	12.3%
SNP	18	32%	16.7%
UKIP	0	0%
Green Party	1	100%	100%

All parties	187	28.8%	22.8%

Female party leaders as of today are:

Harriet Harman for Labour

Nicola Sturgeon for SNP

Suzanne Evans for UKIP

Leanne Wood for Plaid Cymru

Natalie Bennett for the Green Party

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