Our Background

• In 1932 there were 13 Conservative women MPs. At the last election, 74 years later, 3 newly elected women MPs brought our total up to 17.
• Women make up just 9 per cent of the Conservative Parliamentary Party, an increase of just 1 per cent on the previous total.
• It would have taken the Conservative Party 400 years to achieve equal representation of women within its ranks at the pre-2007 rate of activity.
• Women comprised 28 per cent of all Labour MPs, an increase of 5 percentage points from 2001.
• 70 per cent of both men and women believe there are too few women at Westminster. 83 per cent of 16-34 year olds polled wanted to see more women MPs (source: MORI).
• The Conservative Party used to be the party of the woman voter, and every election we have won since the war has been on the basis of a lead among female voters.
• At the 1992 General Election, the Conservative Party held a 10 per cent lead over Labour among women voters.
• In 1997, Labour led the Conservatives among women by 12 points. That was an 11 percentage point swing from Conservative to Labour among women over just one parliament.
• In 2005, the Conservative share of the vote amongst women fell by 1% (sources: MORI, NOP).
• We have yet to win back the female vote, and continuing failure to do so will mean continuing electoral failure.
• Women candidates win elections! Women are more likely to vote where there are women candidates and men are not put off. Women are also more likely to believe that "politics benefits people like me", are more likely to engage, and are more likely to vote (source: Electoral Commission).