On Wednesday 21st January Centenary Action hosted an event alongside our partners at 50:50 Parliament and the APPG Women in Parliament focused on Making Parliament Work for Women. The event was chaired by Dawn Butler MP and sponsored by Mims Davies MP.
Dawn started the event reflecting candidly on her time on the Modernisation Committee under the last Labour government, recalling how efforts to reform Parliament sometimes faced resistance from those determined to preserve the status quo. Her remarks set the scene for an honest and forward-looking discussion.
Dawn then introduced Chair of the House of Commons Procedure Committee Cat Smith MP, who shared an update on the work of the Procedure Committee. The Committee is responsible for reviewing parliamentary procedures and identifying where improvements can be made to help Parliament function more effectively.
Cat highlighted how changes that may appear technical can have a significant impact on MPs’ day-to-day lives—particularly by increasing predictability in parliamentary business and helping Parliament run more smoothly. She outlined several important reforms driven by the Committee, including time limits on debates, changes to how the House is notified of an MP’s arrest, enabling proceedings in the Welsh language, and significant work on proxy voting. The development of proxy voting, in particular, was shaped by the experiences of women MPs who were pregnant during the Brexit votes, demonstrating the need for parliamentary systems that better accommodate the realities of women’s lives.
The Procedure Committee has continued this work in the current Parliament, including examining call lists, voting systems, and extending the proxy voting scheme. Cat emphasised the Committee’s commitment to cross-party working and encouraged attendees to engage with its inquiries by sharing evidence and experiences.
We were pleased to bring together women from across the political spectrum from the 50:50 and Elect Her communities to participate in the event. We were also delighted to be joined by MPs Emily Darlington MP, Kim Leadbeater MP, Maya Ellis MP and Amanda Hack MP who contributed their experiences to the discussion. In addition we were joined by representatives from partner organisations including Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), UN Women UK ,The Jo Cox Foundation and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association among others.
The event concluded with a wide-ranging and thoughtful discussion with questions from attendees —highlighting both the enthusiasm for reform and the importance of ongoing dialogue on making Parliament work better for women.