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 persons
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
Persons 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
- 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, and since 2016 Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
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)
References and notes
- 1 2 http://news.uk.msn.com/odd-news/photos/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=150816723&ocid=toptodayuk2 Famous female firsts
- ↑ Mastermind (1984 ed.). Treasure Press. p. 340.
- ↑ Fawcett then sat as MP for Hackney until his death in 1884. Subsequent blind MPs have included William Tindal Robertson, a Conservative who succeeded Fawcett as MP for Brighton, from 1874 to his death in 1889; William Macdonald, MP for Ossory from 1886 to 1892; and Ian Fraser, Conservative MP for St Pancras North from 1924 to 1929 then from 1931 to 1934, then MP for Lonsdale from 1940 to 1958, before becoming a member of the House of Lords.
- 1 2 "Your first mistake", The Guardian, 20 July 2006
- ↑ "Labour MP Anne Begg made a dame in New Year Honours", BBC News, 31 December 2010
- ↑ Rose, Damon. "Dame Anne Begg: 'What do I do now?'". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/fanfare-for-a-forgotten-mp-nicholas-timmins-recalls-the-election-to-the-commons-of-a-man-of-many-firsts-1535249.html Fanfare for a forgotten MP: Nicholas Timmins recalls the election to the Commons of a man of many 'firsts' The Independent NICHOLAS TIMMINS Saturday, 25 July 1992
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6622925.stm First ethnic minority AM elected
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7876038.stm Scotland's first Muslim MSP dies
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6622915.stm First Asian MSP goes to Holyrood
- ↑ http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REjewish.htm Jewish Community
- ↑ http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/31823/new-jewish-ministers-and-miliband-rivalry New Jewish ministers and the Miliband rivalry - The Jewish Chronicle
- ↑ Campbell, Dennis (30 January 2005). "The pioneer who changed gay lives". The Observer. Retrieved 2008-09-28.