‘Less old men, less privately educated, less upper class’: The changing face of Westminster

Women MPs have routinely argued an antiquated, misogynistic and toxic culture persists in parliament – with the 2017 Pestminster scandal seeing an explosion of claims of sexual harassment in Westminster.

But this appears to be changing in the wake of Labour’s win in the recent election as new women MPs say parliament now feels less misogynistic and the “bubble” of Westminster may finally be bursting.

Politicians across the parties reflected to The Independent upon the fewer old male MPs and greater numbers of MPs who have been to state school, suggesting that parliament feels more representative of the wider country.

Staffers who worked in Westminster before the summer snap election say the culture in parliament has changed since Labour’s recent win, MPs said.

It comes after a record number of women were elected on 4 July, with 263 female members of parliament taking up their seats under a Labour government: a rise from 220 in 2019. The current proportion of female MPs is 40 per cent, and a significant improvement on the 34 per cent in 2019.

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Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister for energy consumers, said: “The look and feel of parliament is really different. I remember the first time I was in the chamber and I just looked around and there was colour and not just the colour of people's skin, but just the colour of clothes. It wasn't just men in grey suits so it feels like there has been a kind of shift.”

Ms Fahnbulleh, an economist, said she has spoken to some staff who say parliament feels different in the wake of the recent election. “It's far warmer. It's far more open,” she said. 

Ms Fahnbulleh, former chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, said she has been “pleasantly surprised” that she has not endured racism or misogyny since becoming an MP.

She branded parliament an “old school, slightly antiquated world” but explained it feels like a fresh generation is “changing the culture” but this will take time.

Ms Fahnbulleh explained she has seen no evidence of the stereotype that MPs are disconnected from society and are in politics for the wrong reasons.

“I’ve seen colleagues that are staying awake at night trawling through their inbox helping constituents. With fire in their belly about wanting to drive change. And that is really inspiring to be part of and long may it last.”

Caroline Voaden, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, said she had experienced no misogyny at all since becoming an MP five months ago.

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“I think it was on day two or three: one of the staff said this place is already very different because there is a different cohort of people who have come in,” she said.

“There are less old men. It's less privately educated. It's less upper class. That doesn't mean that everything changes, but I do think probably it's going to be a different kind of parliament.”

Ms Voaden, a former journalist, said there are not many more men than women among the Lib Dem MPs, and that the women feel quite equal. 

“When I look at the Conservative benches beside us in the House of Commons, quite often, it's literally just a sea of blue suits,” she said. “And you don't see that in any other part of the chamber. It's quite noticeable because there are so few women on the Conservative benches.”

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Kate Dearden, Labour MP for Halifax, said “everyday sexism”, in the form of casual comments and wider treatment, happens in many workplaces.

“I have been mistaken for a staffer a few times since being elected as an MP,” the 30-year-old said. “This is even though I am wearing a green-and-white lanyard which only MPs wear. Some people have been a bit taken aback when they see it, which has made me laugh a few times.”

She has experienced a great deal of misogyny on social media but tends not to engage with it or look at it, she said.

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Ellie Chowns, the Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, said she had not experienced misogyny since entering parliament and said she felt a sense of sisterhood there.

“It is outdated in all sorts of ways but men and women are equally affected by the inefficiencies of our procedures,” she said. “I’m on record already as speaking out about the need for modernisation of the Commons.”

Ms Chowns said she hopes that having a record number of women in the Commons will mean the culture and the processes become more equal.

She added that the Conservative benches are still “overwhelmingly male and older” as she argued parliament has a “long way to go until it is fully representative”.

“It needs more women, more young people, it needs more ethnic diversity,” Ms Chowns said.

Natasha Irons, Labour MP for Croydon East, said she had not endured racism or misogyny since arriving in the Commons.

“We have got a lot of women here; you don’t feel so out of place,” she said. “People who have come before me have had to endure bad behaviour and fight those battles so people like myself can be there.”