Electoral firsts in the United Kingdom

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

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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

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

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 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]

Homosexuals

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

References and notes

1. http://news.uk.msn.com/odd-news/photos/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=150816723&ocid=toptodayuk2 Famous female firsts
2. Mastermind (1984 ed.). Treasure Press. p. 340.
3. 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.
4. "Your first mistake", The Guardian, 20 July 2006
5. "Labour MP Anne Begg made a dame in New Year Honours", BBC News, 31 December 2010
6. Rose, Damon. "Dame Anne Begg: 'What do I do now?'". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
7. 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
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6622925.stm First ethnic minority AM elected
9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7876038.stm Scotland's first Muslim MSP dies
10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6622915.stm First Asian MSP goes to Holyrood
11. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REjewish.htm Jewish Community
12. http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/31823/new-jewish-ministers-and-miliband-rivalry New Jewish ministers and the Miliband rivalry - The Jewish Chronicle
13. Campbell, Dennis (30 January 2005). "The pioneer who changed gay lives". The Observer. Retrieved 2008-09-28.