Women elected to the House of Commons
This list reports all the women who have been elected as MPs to the House of Commons, for each election since 1918 and in the order they were sworn in.

The Liaison Committee has held oral evidence sessions with the Prime Minister since 2002.
The Liaison Committee: taking evidence from the Prime Minister (801 KB , PDF)
The Liaison Committee was formally established in 1980, following the creation of departmental select committees in 1979. Prior to this, select committee chairs had been meeting to co-ordinate administrative matters since 1967.
The Liaison Committee comprises all the chairs of select committees in the House of Commons and is chaired by a member chosen by the committee. In the 2019 Parliament it was chaired by an additional member, appointed by the House. It considers matters relating to select committees and has administrative, advisory and co-ordinating roles. It advises House authorities on select committee matters; determines which select committee reports are debated; considers issues facing committees; reviews committee practice; and takes oral evidence from the Prime Minister.
It occasionally undertakes inquiries of its own:
Although the Prime Minister answers parliamentary questions in the Commons chamber, the Prime Minister traditionally refused to appear before parliamentary committees.
Until around 2000, the Liaison Committee focused on administering the select committee system. Then it repositioned itself with a key report which sought to rebalance the relationship between Parliament and government, and staked a claim for its suitability as a forum through which the Prime Minister could be scrutinised.0[1] The Liaison Committee’s proposal to take evidence from the Prime Minister was rejected in 2000 and in 2001. However, in 2002, Tony Blair himself suggested that he appear before the committee twice a year.
The Liaison Committee noted that the new format would “at last bring the Prime Minister himself within select committee scrutiny”. It also considered that the format would provide a “calmer setting” for more “productive and informative” exchanges, which it contrasted with the “confrontational exchanges and theatrical style” of Prime Minister’s Questions.1F1F[2]
The sessions have become a regular feature. This scrutiny mechanism has operated since 2002 and in that time the Liaison Committee has questioned seven Prime Ministers. Between 2002 and 2025, 53 sessions have been held. Initially the Prime Minister appeared for 2½ hours, twice a year. In the 2010 Parliament this was increased to three appearances a year of 90 minutes apiece. The sessions have been described as “a significant advance in the scrutiny of the Prime Minister”.2F2F[3] Before its first session with Keir Starmer, in the 2024 Parliament, the committee chair Dame Meg Hillier invited him to appear four times a year (PDF).
[1] Liaison Committee, Shifting the Balance: Select Committees and the Executive, 3 March 2000, HC 300 1999-2000; and Liaison Committee, Shifting the Balance: Unfinished Business, March 2001, HC 321 2000-01
[2] Liaison Committee, Evidence from the Prime Minister (PDF), 3 July 2002, HC 984 2001-02, para 3
[3] P Cowley, ‘Parliament’ in A Seldon (ed.) Blair’s Britain 1997-2007, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2007, p23
Dr Mark Bennister, Visiting Reader, Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London and Visiting Research Affiliate, Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge, was awarded an academic fellowship under the title “Questioning the Prime Minister: How Effective is the Liaison Committee?”. His fellowship ended in 2019.
Richard Kelly is the House of Commons Library contact.
Information on Academic fellowships is available on the parliamentary website.
The Liaison Committee: taking evidence from the Prime Minister (801 KB , PDF)
This list reports all the women who have been elected as MPs to the House of Commons, for each election since 1918 and in the order they were sworn in.
A briefing paper which "maps" (or summarises) the main elements of the United Kingdom's uncodified constitution.
On Wednesday 25 June 2025, there will be an Estimates Day debate on the spending of the Ministry of Justice. This debate pack contains details of the latest estimates and previous expenditure, background material, and suggestions for further reading.