The Peerage Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits women peeresses and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed.
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, was a British politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2000. She was the first woman to have served as Speaker. By tradition, Boothroyd later sat as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords.
Sally Rachel Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee is a Liberal Democrat politician and their Lead Home Affairs Spokesperson in the House of Lords. She is a Life Peer and former chair of the London Assembly.
Peta Jane Buscombe, Baroness Buscombe is an English barrister, regulator and politician. She is a Conservative member of the House of Lords. Lady Buscombe was Chief Executive of the Advertising Association from 2007 to 2009. She served as Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission from April 2009 until 16 October 2011.
Doreen Elizabeth Massey, Baroness Massey of Darwen, is a Labour member of the House of Lords.
Manzila Pola Uddin, Baroness Uddin is a British non-affiliated life peer and community activist of Bangladeshi descent. In 2009 she was included on The Guardian's Muslim Women Power List for Britain. She previously sat for Labour when, in 2012, Uddin was required to repay £125,349, the largest amount in the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal.
Elspeth Rosamund Morton Howe, Baroness Howe of Idlicote, was a British life peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords (2001–2020) who served in many capacities in public life. As the widow of Geoffrey Howe, she was formerly known as Lady Howe of Aberavon before receiving a peerage in her own right. She was the paternal half-aunt of Queen Camilla.
Ann Elizabeth Oldfield Butler-Sloss, Baroness Butler-Sloss, GBE, PC, is a retired English judge. She was the first female Lord Justice of Appeal and was the highest-ranking female judge in the United Kingdom until 2004, when Baroness Hale was appointed to the House of Lords. Until June 2007, she chaired the inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed. She stood down from that task with effect from that date, and the inquest was conducted by Lord Justice Scott Baker.
Elizabeth Jean Barker, Baroness Barker is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.
Brian Mackenzie, Baron Mackenzie of Framwellgate, is a former British Labour and now non-aligned member of the House of Lords. He is the former President of the Police Superintendents' Association.
Maeve Christina Mary Sherlock, Baroness Sherlock, is a Labour Party life peer.
Margaret Theresa Prosser, Baroness Prosser, is a Labour life peer and former trade unionist.
The representation of women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom has been an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom at numerous points in the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally debate centred on whether women should be allowed to vote and stand for election as Members of Parliament. The Parliament Act 1918 gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament. The United Kingdom has had three female Prime Ministers: Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990), Theresa May (2016–2019), and Liz Truss (2022). The publication of the book Women in the House by Elizabeth Vallance in 1979 highlighted the under-representation of women in Parliament. In more modern times concerns about the under-representation of women led the Labour Party to introduce and, decades later, abandon all-women short lists, something which was later held to breach discrimination laws.
Anne Caroline Jenkin, Baroness Jenkin of Kennington is a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
Tina Wendy Stowell, Baroness Stowell of Beeston, is a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords.
Kathryn Mary Pinnock, Baroness Pinnock is a British Liberal Democrat politician, life peer, and former school teacher. Since 1987, she has been a member of Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council. She was leader of the council's Lib Dem group from 1991 to 2014, and leader of the council from 2000 to 2006. She was created a life peer in 2014 and now sits in the House of Lords.
Shaista Ahmad Sheehan, Baroness Sheehan is a British politician and life peer. She was nominated for a life peerage by Nick Clegg in August 2015.
Joanna Carolyn Penn, Baroness Penn, known as JoJo Penn, is a British political advisor. She was a baroness-in-waiting from March 2020 to September 2022. Since October 2022, she has been a parliamentary secretary in HM Treasury.
Elizabeth Jenny Rosemary Sanderson, Baroness Sanderson of Welton is a British political advisor, life peer, and former journalist.
