More Stable than Strong: Women’s Representation, Voters and Issues

Abstract

Theresa May’s unexpected accession to the Tory leadership after the historic EU Referendum meant that for the first time since 1987, the General Election was called and contested by a female Prime Minister. The election was notable therefore for an abundance of leading female figures, more so than any previous election. May and Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader, dominated the post-Brexit narrative for some months (their meeting on the subject leading to the controversial ‘Legs-it’ front page in the Daily Mail) whilst female leaders such as Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru), Arlene Foster (Democratic Unionist Party) and Caroline Lucas (co-leader of The Green Party) also formed part of the campaign. Despite repeated assurances to the contrary, May called the election after formally triggering Article 50 and just eight weeks prior to the opening of negotiations to establish a deal to leave the EU. May sought to present herself as a strong and competent leader who would make use of her reputation as a ‘bloody difficult woman’ to negotiate the best deal possible. Our analysis assesses the importance placed on women during the campaign by firstly discussing how women were portrayed. We then go on to discuss the parties’ attempts to appeal to women voters through an analysis of their manifesto offerings, before discussing how women actually voted. Finally, we analyse the extent to which the representation of women in parliament was altered as a result of the election.