Women take over Westminster: Record number of female MPs elected in UK Elections

As the United Kingdom woke up to a new government, the 2024 General Elections broke several records. One of them was that the polls saw a record number of female lawmakers being elected in the House of Commons.

When the House of Commons comes back with a brand new party taking the reign, there will be at least 242 female MPs in the new government. The previous record was not far off, it was set in 2019 when 220 women were elected to the House of Commons.

In 2019, the proportion of female MPs reached 34%, the highest portion of either chamber in parliament to date. Before that in 2017, it was 207 and 196 in 2015.

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Meanwhile, Sunak’s cabinet made record for all the wrong reasons

In a major blow to the UK PM Rishi Sunak’s administration, several key ministers from this cabinet lost in their constituency in the 2024 UK General Elections. While the British premier has already conceded defeat to Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, eleven sitting Cabinet ministers lost their respective constituencies.

The list of big losers included stalwarts like the Defence Secretary, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and the leader of the UK House of Commons Penny Mordaunt. The incumbent cabinet has managed to create history for all the wrong reasons. The last time an incumbent administration performed this badly was in 1997 when 7 cabinet ministers lost in their respective constituencies.

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Starmer’s Labour managed to garner a landslide victory in the snap poll which was called by Sunak himself. As Starmer heads towards Downing Street, this marked an end to the 14 years of reign by the Conservatives.

Labour wins big

After a 14-year governing streak defined by Brexit, a pandemic and an astonishing period of political and financial turbulence that ushered in three Prime Ministers in just one year, the world’s most successful political party lost the elections in the worst way possible.

“We did it!” Starmer told supporters in a jubilant victory speech in the early hours of Friday morning. Starmer’s Labour has managed to win 412 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons.

According to the near-final results, the Conservatives were reduced so far to just 121 seats, marking the party’s worst performance in its nearly 200-year history. While it is certain the UK will see a brand new government, it will also see a highly representative lower chamber.

With inputs from agencies.