Hundreds of seats effectively ‘reserved’ by men at Westminster, research shows

Posted on the 13th February 2018

Single-member nature of seats under disproportionate UK voting system holds back women’s representation, say campaigners.

  • Statement from the Electoral Reform Society for immediate release, 13th February 2018
  • Spokespeople are available for interview. For more information, contact mediaoffice@electoral-reform.org.uk

Gender equality in Parliament is being held back by Westminster’s voting system, with hundreds of seats effectively ‘reserved’ by incumbent men, according to new research by the Electoral Reform Society.

The figures show that although there is near gender parity among current MPs first elected in 2015 (45% are women), 170 seats are being held by men first elected in 2005 or before – with few opportunities for women to take those seats or selections.

Campaigners are warning that without change of the system, further progress will be extremely slow.

The problem stems from the fact that long-held seats were first elected in much more unequal times. But the MPs can hold on to their seats due to the one-member, closed-off nature of First Past the Post constituencies, as well the incumbency effect in Britain’s many ‘safe seats’.

Key findings:

  • Of the 212 currently-serving MPs first elected in 2005 or before, just 42 (20%) are women
  • Of 44 current MPs first elected in 1992 or before, only eight of them – 18% – are women

Yet the current levels of women’s representation rely on the much better performance by parties in recent elections – especially the last two:

  • Of the MPs remaining who were first elected in 2015, there is near gender parity – 45% are women
  • 37% of MPs first elected in 2017 are women – much further from parity, but still far better than the rate for the ‘old-timers’

However, the dominance of men in long-held seats acts as a ‘major barrier’ to further progress, according to the ERS.

The ERS say the one-member-per-seat nature of First Past the Post exaggerates these problems, with Westminster’s system ‘the worst in the world’ when it comes to gender equality.

The campaigners calling for multi-member seats under a proportional voting system to be introduced, to ensure all seats are properly contested, including by women.

Jess Garland, Director of Policy and Research at the Electoral Reform Society, said: 

“While we’ve seen progress on women’s representation in recent elections, gender equality is being held back by Westminster’s broken voting system, which effectively ‘reserves’ seats for men.

“Over 80% of MPs first elected in 1997 or earlier are men, with the one-MP per seat one-person-takes-all nature of First Past the Post leaving few opportunities for women’s representation once a man has secured selection. Sitting MPs have a huge incumbency advantage, and since open selections are relatively rare, we face a real stumbling block in the path to fair representation.

“Parties have made significant strides, with near gender parity among current MPs first elected in 2015. But without change of the system, further progress will be extremely slow.

“Westminster’s single-member seat system is widely regarded as the world’s worst when it comes to achieving gender balance. Proportional multi-member systems – used in democracies around the world – mean there are always real opportunities for improving women’s representation.

“As parties evaluate their progress towards equal representation, they must consider a proportional voting system that puts real democracy and dynamism at the heart of our politics.”

Background

Table: Broadly speaking, the longer an MP has been in Parliament, the more likely they are to be male.

Winner’s Gender by Number of MPs
MP for this Seat Since: Total Female Male % F % M
2018 or before (all MPs) 650 208 442 32.0% 68%
2015 or before 545 167 378 30.6% 69.4%
2010 or before 380 93 287 24.5% 75.5%
2005 or before 212 42 170 19.8% 80.2%
2001 or before 143 21 122 14.7% 85.3%

The cause of seat blocking 

Deselection of sitting MPs by constituency parties is relatively rare, which means a large proportion of Parliament is made up of men who have been there for decades. Moreover, the longer an MP holds his/her seat, the less likely a challenge seems.

This, and the prevalence of ‘safe seats’ under Westminster’s voting system, means that once a seat is in an MP’s hands, it may be theirs for decades.

While parties have made strides in recent elections, progress is being held back by the fact that 80% of MPs first elected in 2005 or before are men – with little hope of diversity or space for new candidates unless they stand down.

Removing the barriers

Recent elections have seen parties redouble their efforts to select women in winnable seats. This has led to major progress in terms of new batches of MPs – as noted, there is near gender parity among current MPs who were first elected in 2015.

Therefore, calling for parties to do more with the handle of open seats will only produce modest gains from now on. Parties need to look more closely at the large number of seats which are effectively ‘reserved’ by incumbent men.

Multi-member seats and proportional voting systems ensure all elections are open to real competition – including when it comes to gender. First Past the Post (FPTP) is the ‘world’s worst system’ for achieving gender balance, say the campaigners.

Jess Garland continued: “As parties evaluate their progress towards equal representation, they should make an honest assessment of the implications of continued use of FPTP for achieving equality.

“To get the best Parliament possible – to stir it up, to introduce new perspectives and to add some much-needed dynamism in a chamber ripe for reform – we need a proportional voting system that puts real democracy and dynamism at the heart of our politics.”

ENDS

Methodology

These figures are for the total number of MPs remaining in Parliament from that election. These are also yearly dates, meaning if an MP was elected in a by election in 1997, which was a general election year, they would be included in with the rest from 1997.

Where an MP is a member for a seat that was altered by a boundary change, and then becomes MP for its successor constituency, they are deemed to have been first elected at the first election for the former constituency.  

If an MP has moved seats, they are deemed to be first elected in year of the new seat, rather than their previous location. This is because there would have been a fresh selection. E.g. Geraint Davies was MP for Croydon Central from 1997 to 2005 when he lost his seat. Davies was subsequently elected MP for Swansea West in 2010, but as he had to go through a separate selection battle he is deemed first elected for his seat in 2010.

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