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Social background of Members of Parliament 1979-2017
This briefing paper provides data on the gender, age, ethnicity and educational backgrounds of MPs elected at the 2017 General Election and how this has changed over time.
Jump to full report >>Gender
There were 208 female MPs elected at the 2017 General Election (32% of all MPs). This is the highest ever number and proportion. In 1979 there were 19 women MPs, 3% of the total.
LGBTQ
45 MPs elected in 2017 were openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or queer (LGBTQ), 7% of the total. This was the highest ever recorded figure.
Age
52% (339) of MPs elected in 2017 were aged over 50. Following the election, the proportion of MPs aged 70 and over increased to 4% (28). 14 MPs aged under 30 were elected (2% of the total).
Ethnicity
52 MPs were from non-white backgrounds, 8% of the total. Around 14% of the whole UK population are from a non-white background.
Education
82% of MPs were graduates and 24% have attended Oxford or Cambridge. 29% of MPs attended fee-paying schools.
Parliamentary experience
87 MPs elected in 2017 had no previous Parliamentary experience (13%). 551 (85%) had been MPs in the 2015-17 Parliament and 12 were re-elected having served as MPs further in the past.
This version includes the latest data from The British General Election of 2017 book by Philip Cowley and Dennis Kavanagh
Commons Briefing papers CBP-7483
Authors: Richard Cracknell; Cassie Barton
Topics: Central government, Elections, Members of Parliament, Parliament, Political parties
PDF, 530.2 KB)
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