Women Members of Parliament

Thank you for following, and to Richard Kelly for publishing the House of Commons Library briefing paper ‘Women Members of Parliament’. With thanks to the #JoCoxWomenInLeadership2018 cohort and @NanSloane for inspiring these tweets. #AskHerToStand #DontLookDown

Janet Daby 14 June 2018 - present day Lewisham East 'I am saddened & outraged that in 2018 some young women... will skip school because their families cannot afford sanitary products... it is estimated that 137,000 girls missed school last year because of this type of poverty.'

Órfhlaith Begley 3 May 2018 - present day West Tyrone 2018 Órfhlaith is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and as such she did not take up her seat in parliament. She is the first woman to hold the West Tyrone seat since the parliamentary constituency was created in 1997.

Thelma Walker 8 June 2017 - present day Colne Valley Thelma was elected to the Education Select Committee, and is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on Fairtrade, & State Pension Age Inequality. Thelma was a teacher for over 30 years before becoming an MP.

Liz Twist 8 June 2017 - present day Blaydon Liz is Chair of the APPG on PKU and has been working with the National Society for Phenylketonuria (NSPKU) to pressure the Government into making the drug Kuvan available in the UK.

Laura Smith 8 June 2017 - present day Crewe and Nantwich Laura's Maiden Speech, 'I know what it is like to be a single mother ​with a modest income, struggling to make ends meet. I can promise today that I will never, ever forget where I have come from.'

Eleanor Smith 8 June 2017-present day Wolverhampton South West Eleanor said her constituents had elected 'the first black woman to represent a west midlands constituency in Parliament... a nurse from a working-class background, a trade unionist & a first generation immigrant.'

Danielle Rowley 8 June 2017-present day Midlothian 2018 'I would like to announce to you & to the House...that today I am on my period, & this week it has already cost me £25. We know that the average cost of periods in the UK over a year is £500, which many women cannot afford'

Ellie Reeves 8 June 2017 - present day Lewisham West and Penge Voter ID Pilot Schemes 2018 'I have big concerns about the potential disenfranchisement of voters in areas where people who are legally entitled to vote may not have identification in line with the requirements.'

Jo Platt 8 June 2017 - present day Leigh Jo is Leigh's first female MP. Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office. Jo set up, and chairs, the All Party Parliamentary Group on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Laura Pidcock 8 June 2017 - present day North West Durham Laura is Shadow Minister for Labour. In her maiden speech Laura said that the Palace of Westminster dated from 'a time when my class and my sex would have been denied a place in it, because we are deemed unworthy.'

Stephanie Peacock 8 June 2017 - present day Barnsley East 2017 'I have heard lots of stories from teachers about keeping a supply of sanitary products in the classroom so that girls do not miss out on education because of poverty...The Government should do something.'

Fiona Onasanya 8 June 2017-present day Peterborough Maiden speech ‘People have come to Peterborough from every corner of the globe&many nations are represented. My presence may be a symbol of this increasing diversity I am the 1st black female MP ever elected by my constituency’

Layla Moran 8 June 2017 - present day Oxford West and Abingdon Layla is the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education. March 2018, government blocked a bill sponsored by Layla to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824, which permits the arrest of homeless people sleeping on the streets

Anna McMorrin 8 June 2017-present day Cardiff North Maiden speech ‘I intend to use my time to stand up against failed austerity measures & for a more prosperous, fairer&more equal society’ On entering parliament Anna called for an urgent debate on job losses in her constituency

Rachel Maclean 8 June 2017 - present day Redditch Rachel is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in Parliament. She is also the chair of the APPG on Carers and the APPG on Endangered Species. Parliamentary Private Secretary within the Home Office.

Elisha McCallion 8 June 2017 - present day Foyle Elisha did not take her seat in Parliament. She is Sinn Féin’s first MP for the Foyle constituency.

Emma Little Pengelly 8 June 2017 - present day Belfast South ‘There should be greater recognition of the valuable role that women play in creating peace agreements &trying to end conflict. In Northern Ireland, very many women helped to bring about the peace that we enjoy today.’

Karen Lee 8 June 2017 - present day Lincoln Karen is a nurse and has asked the government to reinstate the bursary nurses used to receive to train. ‘without the reinstatement of the nursing bursary, we cannot even hope to train enough nurses.’

Lesley Laird 8 June 2017 - present day Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Lesley is the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. Lesley is also a former deputy leader of Fife Council.