Women MPs are a common sight in Parliament these days but that has not always been the case.

This year marks 100 years since women were first allowed to make their voices heard and vote in the elections.

However, it is lesser known that it is also a century this month since women were allowed to have a seat in Parliament.

The first woman to be elected to the House of Commons was Constance Markievicz in the general election of 1918 but as a member of Sinn Fein, she did not take her seat.

The first women to take her seat was Nancy Astor (Viscountess Astor), after a by-election in December 1919, according to the Parliament UK website.

She was elected as a Conservative MP for the Plymouth Sutton constituency after her husband, Waldorf Astor, the former MP, was elevated to the peerage.

Nancy held the seat until she stood down in 1945. Although she had never been involved in campaigns for women's suffrage, she was a great supporter of the women's movement once in Parliament.

Her husband also worked to promote the admission of women to the House of Lords during the 1920s.

South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler said this week was of huge significance as women were being treated as equals. But there is still more to be done, she said.

Tory MP Mrs Wheeler said: "As many people will know, 2018 marks the centenary of women in the UK being given the right to vote.

"However, what many people don't know is that 1918 was also the year that women could first become MPs.

"The only qualification required was to be aged 21 or over and in my eyes, this was hugely significant as it meant that women were, for the first time, treated as equals in the most important institution in the land.

"Some 491 women have become MPs since 1918 (I am the 308th female MP to be elected) and some have gone on to hold the highest positions in Government.

"But there is so much more to do when you consider that in the same time some 4,503 men have become MPs so if politics is something you're interested in, then why not stand for election?

"The Prime Minister was right when she said that being a Member of Parliament is one of the best jobs because of the real difference you can make to people's lives.

"This is what first brought me to politics as a local councillor in 1982 and what I continue to strive towards for all the residents of South Derbyshire."



