SA1: Living in a Democracy
Representation in Parliament
Aims:
• Examine the reasons why women and
ethnic minorities are not fairly
represented in Parliament.
How Representative Are Our
MPs?
• The British population is made
up of many different groups of
people – young, old, rich, poor,
men, women and people of
different races.
• Each group of people will have
different needs and it is the
role of an MP to try and meet
the needs of these different
groups.
• However it is argued that some
groups are not fairly
represented in the House of
Commons – the average MP in
2010 was 50 years old, male and
educated at an independent
(private) school.
Male
Female
The number of female
MPs has increased in
recent years. If they
were to be fairly
represented there would
be 332 female MPs in
Parliament
At the moment women
make up 51% of the UK
population.
Year
Number of % of
Female
Female
MPs
MPs
1997
120
18.2
2001
118
17.9
2005
125
19.4
2010
144
22.1%
Why Are Women Under-Represented?
Pamela Nash, aged 25 was
the youngest woman to be
elected as an MP in the
2010 election.
• Parties are reluctant to choose
female candidates because they
think they might lose voters.
• Many women are the main carers in
their family – living and working in
London during the week is not
practical.
• The House of Commons does not
have hours of work that suit
someone with a young family.
• There are no child-minding
facilities in the House of Commons.
• Many women take a career break
when they have family – a political
career takes many years to
develop.
White
Ethnic Minority
The number of ethnic
minority MPs has also
increased in recent years.
If they were to be fairly
represented there would
be 36 ethnic minority
MPs in Parliament.
At the moment ethnic
minorities make up 5.5%
of the UK population.
Year
Number of
Ethnic
Minority
MPs
% of
Ethnic
Minority
MPs
1997
9
1.37%
2001
11
1.67%
2005
15
2.32%
2010
27
4.1%
Why Are Ethnic Minorities UnderRepresented?
• Parties are reluctant to choose
ethnic minority candidates because
they think they might lose voters.
• People from ethnic minority
backgrounds are less likely to join
political parties – they often feel
the policies of the main parties do
little to help them.
• Some ethnic minorities are less
likely to stay on at school or go
onto university. The more
educated a person is the more
likely they are to take part in
politics.
• The House of Commons is
predominately white. Many ethnic
minorities feel they have few
political role models to follow.
Shabana Mahmood was the
first Muslim woman to be
elected as an MP in the
2010 election.
Politics – Task Three
1.
Explain why women are underrepresented in the House of
Commons.
(4 marks)
2.
Explain why ethnic minorities are
under-represented in the House of
Commons.
(4 marks)