Conservative Women in Parliament, 1945–75

Abstract

This period saw women’s participation in politics slowly growing at both the national and the local level. Barriers were clearly breaking down for women, but only a tiny fraction of them was able to benefit from this. Everywhere the story was the same. Women were getting increasingly involved in local government and other civic bodies, but the proportion remained low. The House of Lords was also reformed, and for the first time in its history, women were admitted to that august and reactionary body. Their numbers, however, could hardly be considered to be overwhelming. The amount of women candidates increased significantly during this period from 76 in 1945 — all parties included — to 138 in the second election of 1974, which meant that women went from being 4.9 per cent of candidates to 7 per cent.¹ This did not, however, mean that their number of seats increased propor­tionately, for women appear to have been given a high number of unwinnable seats or to have been chosen by minor political parties with less chance of winning.