New Labour's Women MPs: Women Representing Women

It was not long after the election of a record number of women to the House of Commons in 1997 that the backlash began. Criticism of the women was all-encompassing. They wore the wrong clothes, they voted the wrong way, they were concerned with the wrong issues. Above all, they were accused of failing to have made a difference - and to have failed women. Drawing on interviews with over half of new Labour women MPs, Sarah Childs reveals how the women experienced being MPs, and explores whether they acted for and like women--in constituencies, in parliament, and in government. It offers important insights into theories of women's political representation, showing that the relationship between women's descriptive and substantive representation is complicated, that party and gender identities are crucial, that women's differences must be acknowledged and that it might not always be possible for women representatives to act for women even if they want to. Including a section on women's selection forparliament; whether women MPs act as role models; why it is important that women should be present in politics; as well as exploring in-depth the subject of women's substantive representation, New Labour's Women MPs is essential reading for all those interested in women and politics, legislative studies, political behavior and representation.

Sarah Childs is a lecturer in politics at the University of Bristol.