Blair Babe

Blair Babes or Blair's Babes is a term sometimes used to refer to the 101 female Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Labour Party elected to the British House of Commons in Labour's landslide general election victory in 1997,[1] after images of the new Prime Minister Tony Blair with 96[2] of them on the steps of Church House in Westminster were widely publicised.[3] According to The Times, Margaret Moran, MP for Luton South, described the "perception that the 1997 intake of female Labour MPs are all robotic clones" as "complete tosh".[4] Moran said that she herself was not a Blair Babe, but a "Blair Witch".[4] The columnist Polly Toynbee condemned the term as a "casual, misogynist tag."[5]

The 1997 general election saw more women elected to the House of Commons than ever – 120, exactly double the 60 elected at the 1992 general election. Aside from the 101 Labour MPs, there were also 13 Conservatives, three Liberal Democrats, and three from other parties (including Speaker Betty Boothroyd, previously a Labour politician). However, many of the new female MPs grew disillusioned, and nine either chose not to stand or lost their seats in the 2001 general election. Despite two female MPs winning by-elections between 1997 and 2001, and other women being elected, the total number of female MPs fell to 118 at the 2001 general election. A further 22 stood down or lost their seats at the 2005 general election, although the number of female MPs increased again to a new record of 127.

The sociological implications of the term and the experiences of Labour's women MPs were extensively analysed by Sarah Childs in her 2004 book New Labour's Women MPs: Women Representing Women.[6] Tony Blair's wife Cherie Blair did not like the term.[7]

As of the 2019 general election, there are only 10 Blair Babes left in the House of Commons.

List of Blair babes

#NameConstituencyElectedLost seat/
Stood down
Notes
1.Diane AbbottHackney North and Stoke Newington1987
2.Irene AdamsPaisley North19902005Retired, ennobled as Baroness Adams of Craigielea in 2005
3.Janet AndersonRossendale and Darwen19922010Served as a government whip in 1997 and then under-secretary in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Reshuffled after the 2001 election. Lost seat to Conservative Jake Berry.
4.Hilary ArmstrongNorth West Durham19872010Served as Government Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from 2001 to 2006 then Minister for the Cabinet Office, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Social Exclusion from 2006 to 2007. Retired in 2010, subsequently ennobled as Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top.
5.Candy AthertonFalmouth and Camborne19972005Lost seat to Liberal Democrat Julia Goldsworthy. Died on 30 October 2017.
6.Charlotte AtkinsStaffordshire Moorlands19972010Lost seat to Conservative Karen Bradley
7.Margaret BeckettDerby South1983Previously MP for Lincoln (1974–1979).
8.Anne BeggAberdeen South19972015Lost seat to SNP Callum McCaig
9.Liz BlackmanErewash19972010Retired
10.Hazel BlearsSalford/Salford and Eccles 19972015Retired
11.Helen BrintonPeterborough19972005Lost seat to Conservative Stewart Jackson
12.Karen BuckRegent's Park and Kensington North/Westminster North (2010-)1997
13.Christine ButlerCastle Point19972001Lost seat to Conservative Bob Spink. Died 19 September 2017.
14.Anne CampbellCambridge19922005Lost seat to Liberal Democrat David Howarth.
15.Judith ChurchDagenham19942001Retired
16.Lynda ClarkEdinburgh Pentlands19972005Retired
17.Ann ClwydCynon Valley19842019Retired
18.Ann CoffeyStockport19922019Resigned from the Labour Party and joined Change UK. Retired
19.Yvette CooperPontefract and Castleford/Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford1997
20.Jean CorstonBristol East19922005Retired
21.Ann CryerKeighley19972010Retired
22.Claire Curtis-ThomasCrosby19972010Retired
23.Valerie DaveyBristol West19972005Lost seat to Liberal Democrat Stephen Williams.
24.Janet DeanBurton19972010Retired
25.Julia DrownSouth Swindon19972005Retired
26.Gwyneth DunwoodyCrewe/Crewe and Nantwich19742008Previously MP for Exeter (1966–1970). Died in office.
27.Angela EagleWallasey1992
28.Maria EagleLiverpool Garston/Garston and Halewood1997
29.Louise EllmanLiverpool Riverside19972019Resigned from the Labour Party and retired
30.Lorna FitzsimonsRochdale19972005Lost seat to Liberal Democrat Paul Rowen.
31.Caroline FlintDon Valley19972019 Lost seat to Conservative Nick Fletcher.
32.Barbara FollettStevenage19972010Retired
33.Maria FyfeGlasgow Maryhill19872001Retired
34.Linda GilroyPlymouth Sutton19972010Lost seat to Conservative Oliver Colvile.
35.Llin GoldingNewcastle-under-Lyme19862001Retired
36.Eileen GordonRomford19972001Lost seat to Conservative Andrew Rosindell.
37.Jane GriffithsReading East19972005Deselected
38Harriet HarmanCamberwell and Peckham1982
39.Sylvia HealHalesowen and Rowley Regis19972010Previously MP for Mid Staffordshire (1990-1992). Retired
40.Patricia HewittLeicester West19972010Retired
41.Margaret HodgeBarking1994
42.Kate HoeyVauxhall19892019Retired
43.Beverley HughesStretford and Urmston19972010Retired
44.Joan HumbleBlackpool North and Fleetwood19972010Retired
45.Glenda JacksonHampstead and Highgate19922015Retired
46.Helen JacksonSheffield Hillsborough19922005Retired
47.Melanie JohnsonWelwyn Hatfield19972005Lost seat to Conservative Grant Shapps
48.Fiona JonesNewark19972001Lost seat to Conservative Patrick Mercer. Died in 2007.
49.Helen JonesWarrington North19972019Retired
50.Jenny JonesWolverhampton South West19972001Retired
51.Lynne JonesBirmingham Selly Oak19922010Retired
52.Tessa JowellDulwich and West Norwood19922015Retired in 2015. Died in 2018.
53.Sally KeebleNorthampton North19972010Lost seat to Conservative Michael Ellis
54.Ann KeenBrentford and Isleworth19972010Lost seat to Conservative Mary Macleod .
55.Ruth KellyBolton West19972010Retired
56.Jane KennedyLiverpool Broadgreen/Liverpool, Wavertree19922010Retired
57.Oona KingBethnal Green and Bow19972005Lost seat to George Galloway (Respect).
58.Tess KinghamGloucester19972001Retired
59.Jackie LawrencePreseli Pembrokeshire19972005Retired
60.Helen LiddellMonklands East/Airdrie and Shotts19942005Retired
61.Fiona MactaggartSlough19972017Retired
62.Alice MahonHalifax19872005Retired
63.Judy MallaberAmber Valley19972010Lost seat to Conservative Nigel Mills
64.Christine McCaffertyCalder Valley19972010Retired
65.Siobhain McDonaghMitcham and Morden1997
66.Anne McGuireStirling19972015Retired
67.Shona McIsaacCleethorpes19972010Lost seat to Conservative Martin Vickers.
68.Rosemary McKennaCumbernauld and Kilsyth/Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East19972010Retired
69.Gillian MerronLincoln19972010Lost seat to Conservative Karl McCartney
70.Laura MoffattCrawley19972010Retired
71.Margaret MoranLuton South19972010Barred from standing as the Labour candidate.
72.Julie MorganCardiff North19972010Lost seat to Conservative Jonathan Evans.
73.Estelle MorrisBirmingham Yardley19922005Retired
74.Kali MountfordColne Valley19972010Retired
75.Mo MowlamRedcar19872001Retired. Died in 2005.
76.Diana OrganForest of Dean19972005Retired
77.Sandra OsborneAyr/Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock19972015Lost seat to SNP Corri Wilson
78.Linda PerhamIlford North19972005Lost seat to Conservative Lee Scott.
79.Bridget PrenticeLewisham East19922010Retired
80.Dawn PrimaroloBristol South19872015Retired
81.Joyce QuinGateshead East/Gateshead East and Washington West19872005Retired
82.Barbara RocheHornsey and Wood Green19922005Lost seat to Liberal Democrat Lynne Featherstone.
83.Joan RuddockLewisham Deptford19872015Retired
84.Christine RussellCity of Chester19972010Lost seat to Conservative Stephen Mosley
85.Joan RyanEnfield North1997/20152010/2019Lost seat to Conservative Nick de Bois. Regained seat from him in 2015 election. Resigned from the Labour Party and joined Change UK. Retired.
86.Debra ShipleyStourbridge19972005Retired
87.Clare ShortBirmingham Ladywood19832010Resigned from the Labour Party and retired
88.Angela SmithBasildon19972010Lost seat to Conservative Stephen Metcalfe
89.Geraldine SmithMorecambe and Lunesdale19972010Lost seat to Conservative David Morris
90.Jacqui SmithRedditch19972010Lost seat to Conservative Karen Lumley
91.Helen SouthworthWarrington South19972010Retired
92.Rachel SquireDunfermline West19922006Died in office
93.Phyllis StarkeyMilton Keynes19972010Lost seat to Conservative Iain Stewart.
94.Gisela StuartBirmingham Edgbaston19972017Retired
95.Ann TaylorDewsbury19872005Previously MP for Bolton West (1974–83). Retired
96.Dari TaylorStockton South19972010Lost seat to Conservative James Wharton.
97.Joan WalleyStoke-on-Trent North19872015Retired
98.Claire WardWatford19972010Lost seat to Conservative Richard Harrington
99.Betty WilliamsConwy19972010Retired
100.Rosie WintertonDoncaster Central1997Became a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons in 2017.
101.Audrey WisePreston19872000Previously MP for Coventry South West (1974–9). Died in office.

See also

Notes

  1. A headline in The Sun punningly referred to "Blair's backwenchers": Drink, deception and the death of an MP, The Guardian, 6 February 2007.
  2. The five absent female Labour MPs were Kate Hoey, Clare Short, Glenda Jackson, Lynne Jones and Julie Morgan.
  3. All-women shortlists clear new hurdle, BBC News, 21 December 2001 (including iconic photograph of Blair Babes)
  4. Mark Inglefield. "A fair cop", The Times, London, 2 September 2000, p. 22
  5. Better than men, The Guardian, 16 March 2001.
  6. Sarah Childs (31 July 2004). New Labour's Women MPs: Women Representing Women. Routledge. ISBN 1-135-76616-9.
  7. "HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media". consent.yahoo.com. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

References

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