List of electoral firsts in the United Kingdom

This article lists notable achievements of women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBT people in British Politics.

Women

Women over 30 granted the right to vote: 1918

Women granted the right to vote on the same terms as men: 1928

First female MPs:

• Countess Markievicz, Sinn Féin MP for Dublin St Patrick's, from 1918 to 1922^[1]

Due to the abstentionist policy of Sinn Féin, Markievicz never took her seat in Westminster.

• Viscountess Astor, Conservative MP for Plymouth Sutton, from 1919 to 1945^[1]

First female cabinet minister

• Margaret Bondfield, Labour MP, 1923–4 and 1926–31 and Minister of Labour, 1929–31

First female Government Whip

• Harriet Slater, Labour MP, 1964–1966^[2]

First female prime minister

• Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Prime Minister 1979–1990

First female leader of the House of Lords

• Janet Young, Baroness Young, Conservative Leader 1981–1983

First female speaker in the House of Commons

• Betty Boothroyd, Labour Speaker 1992–2000

First female leader of the House of Commons

• Ann Taylor, Labour Leader 1997–1998

First female speaker in the House of Lords

• Helene Hayman, Baroness Hayman, Lord Speaker 2006–2011 (and first person to hold that title)

Blind people

First blind MP

• Henry Fawcett, Liberal MP for Brighton, 1864–1874^[3][4]

First blind Cabinet member

• David Blunkett,^[4] Labour Secretary of State for Education, 1997 to 2001, then Home Secretary from 2001 to 2004

People in a wheelchair

First MP in a wheelchair

• Arthur MacMorrough Kavanagh, Conservative MP for County Wexford (1866–1868) and for County Carlow (1868–1880). MacMurrough Kavanagh (who had been born with partially formed arms and legs) was given dispensation to be accompanied in the Commons Chamber by a servant who helped place him on the benches.

First female MP in a wheelchair

• Anne Begg, Labour MP for Aberdeen South, 1997-2015^[5][6]

Black Britons

First black MPs:

• Bernie Grant, Labour MP for Tottenham, 1987–2000
• Paul Boateng, Labour MP for Brent South, 1987–2005
• Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, 1987–Present

-All elected in the 1987 election

First black woman MP

• Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, 1987–Present

British Chinese

First Chinese Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland

• Anna Lo (盧曼華), Alliance Party MLA for Belfast South, 2007–present

First Chinese MP

• Alan Mak, Conservative MP for Havant, 2015–present

Czech Britons

First Czech-born MP

• Alf Dubs, Baron Dubs, Labour MP for Battersea, 1979-1987

Polish Britons

First Polish-born MP

• Daniel Kawczynski, Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, 2005–present

South Asians

• Note: South Asians include those of Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Nepalese or Bangladeshi ancestry.

First South Asian MP (and first Zoroastrian MP)

• Dadabhai Naoroji, Liberal MP for Finsbury Central, from 1892 to 1895^[7]

First South Asian Cabinet member

• Sajid Javid, Conservative Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, from 2014 to 2015, then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, then in 2016 Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and then since April 2018 Home Secretary.

First South Asian Member of the Welsh Assembly

• Mohammad 'Oscar' Asghar, Conservative AM for South Wales East from 2007–present ^[8]

First South Asian Member of the Scottish Parliament

• Bashir Ahmad, Scottish National Party MSP for Glasgow, from 2007 to 2009 ^[9][10]

Jews

First Jewish MP

• Lionel de Rothschild, Liberal MP for City of London, from 1847 to 1868 ^[11]

First Jewish speaker in the House of Commons

• John Bercow, 2009–Present ^[12]

LGBT people

First openly gay MP: Chris Smith, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, from 1983 to 2005 ^[13]

First openly bisexual MP: Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, from 1983 - 2015 (came out in 2006)

First openly transgender parliamentarian: Nikki Sinclaire, United Kingdom Independence Party (later Independent) MEP for the West Midlands from 2009 – 2014 (came out in 2013)^[14]

See also

• List of electoral firsts in Canada
• List of electoral firsts in New Zealand

References and notes