Centenary Action and the University of Antwerp, published new research using data from the House of Commons Library, showing that to reach the cross-party supported ambition of a gender equal Parliament by 2028 there will need to be the biggest proportional increase ever in the numbers of women MPs elected at an election at the next General Election.
Further information
- The data shows that there needs to be a 10% increase in the number of women elected in 2024 at the next election to get to 50%
- The biggest increase at any previous election was 9% in 1997 – considered to be a real turning point election in the representation of women
- In 2024 the numbers of women rose by 6.7% – the current percentage of women in the main party parliamentary groups is: Labour – 46%; Conservatives – 24%; Lib Dems – 44%; SNP -11% ; Reform – 0%; Greens – 75%; Plaid Cymru -75%.
Helen Pankhurst CBE wrote about the research in Politics.co.uk.