“There's a real sense of sisterhood”
Forget the pantomime of politics - meet the real women of Westminster
By Caroline Millington
“Male, stale and pale” has long been a phrase associated with the hallowed corridors of power in Parliament. But on a sunny winter day, The Female Lead was invited to the House of Commons to meet eight female MPs who are keen to change the narrative and encourage more women to enter politics.
The House of Commons is as you imagine: formal, old fashioned and grand. It’s a bit like Hogwarts for grown ups, without the spells. But the MPs we meet today are nothing like the two-dimensional politicians usually seen on TV. And that’s where the real magic lies…
“There’s an assumption that we’re all desperately serious all of the time. And actually, this is an incredibly exciting and interesting place to work where there is still a lot of humour,” The Rt Hon Caroline Nokes, Deputy Speaker and Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North, tells us. “What do you call three female deputy speakers? And the answer that people always give to that is: a coven. But we’re not witches.”
Fellow Deputy Speaker Judith Cummings, Labour MP for Bradford South, pops in to join us,“I work on a corridor with three women who are deputy speakers from different parties, so, of course, I’m friends with so many people from right across parties,” she tells us.
“People see PMQs on TV, and that’s basically their image of what politics is like. It’s a pantomime of politics, it’s argy bargy across the floor and people trading insults,” Ellie Chowns, Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, says. “That’s really not what politics is about.”
So what IS politics about?
“It’s about asking questions, holding people to account, participating in debate, making your voice heard and representing people in your constituency,” explains Ellie Chowns.
“Tackling violence against women and girls, online safety, and health inequalities. I’m working on access to finance for women. Only 2% of venture capital goes to women, and I think that is outrageous,” adds Sonia Kumar, Labour MP for Dudley.
While serious issues are at the heart of their work - and some disagreements - the thread of friendship and support for women from every party is woven throughout our conversations.
“There’s a real sense of sisterhood. We work together, including across party lines. So we look out for one another,” says The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson, Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities.
“I completely disagree with my friend Dawn Butler [Labour MP for Brent East] but we get on really well and co-chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in Parliament,” adds Mims Davies, Conservative MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield.
“I spent five days in Norway with a conservative MP that I have very little in common with, but we did have children and chocolate in common,” Vikki Slade, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, reveals.
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“And the person who inspired me to stand for Deputy Speaker was a female Labour MP,” Caroline Nokes says. “I hadn’t considered it and she just said, ‘I think you’d be brilliant’. And that gives you an idea of the depth of respect and friendship that we can have in between parties.”
However, women still have some way to go to be taken seriously. “Nobody notices if a male MP wears the same suit 365 days of the year and everybody wants to comment about our clothes,” Caroline Nokes adds. “But it’s not about women being there for window dressing.”
While politics has historically been dominated by private education and privileged backgrounds, these women are proving it’s no longer the case.
“I don’t come from a political dynasty – I’m an NHS physiotherapist by background and I wanted to make more of a change,” Sonia Kumar says.
“It’s not just for people who’ve been to university – I haven’t been,” Vikki Slade adds. “There’s this assumption that we come from a finishing school and then get plonked in!”
“I got involved in politics when I was 40 because I just thought, ‘I can’t bear the way the country is going’,” explains Ellie Chowns. “I really wasn’t intending to stand for election. I just got the bug.”
And the MPs who join us today are hoping more women will catch the politics bug. The number of women MPs could fall drastically at the next election from 41% to 26%, according to data from 50:50 Parliament.
“Back in 1997 we had a huge number of women MPs elected to Parliament. For the first time, we started talking seriously about domestic abuse, childcare and issues affecting women’s health because we had so many women MPs making the case for it,” Bridget Phillipson says.
“I’m always worried that we will fall back in female representation. It would be really bad for women across the country to see their voice diminished in that way,” Caroline Nokes adds.
“Parliament should represent society and that’s why [it’s essential to] have more women and a wider range of people: ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, they all need to be here,” Vikki Slade says.
“I get quite a lot of women who’ve been subject to domestic abuse who contact me and some of them have said they feel comfortable doing that because they’ve got a female MP,” Aphra Brandrith explains.
Bridget Phillipson understands the hesitation some women might feel, saying, “I know a lot of women worry about combining family life with standing for elected office. Both my children have come along during my time as a member of Parliament. It’s more than possible to combine family responsibilities and being an MP.”
“When I first considered getting involved in politics, one of the things that slightly held me back was this idea that you have to know everything about everything. That’s just not the case. I mean, look at the way so many politicians have let us down throughout history. If you’re thinking, ‘Maybe I could do a better job’, chances are, you might!” says Ellie Chowns.
“We need you – your ideas, your experiences, your connections in the community,” Mims Davies adds. “We need to make sure that we reflect the women of today and inspire the girls of the future”.
As we leave, galvanised by the genuine passion from the women we spoke to, we pass some MPs and their teams tucking into homemade cake in a nearby office, part of a parliamentary Bake Off competition. While society once deemed a woman’s place to be in the kitchen, it’s most definitely in Westminster now.
50:50 Parliament is a non-partisan charity, inspiring and supporting women to stand for elected office, via their #AskHerToStand campaign and #SignUpToStand and ‘Pathways’ programmes.
Join them at www.5050parliament.co.uk.
