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

#	Name	Constituency	Elected	Lost seat/ Stood down	Notes
1.	Diane Abbott	Hackney North and Stoke Newington	1987
2.	Irene Adams	Paisley North	1990	2005	Retired, ennobled as Baroness Adams of Craigielea in 2005
3.	Janet Anderson	Rossendale and Darwen	1992	2010	Served 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 Armstrong	North West Durham	1987	2010	Served 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 Atherton	Falmouth and Camborne	1997	2005	Lost seat to Liberal Democrat Julia Goldsworthy. Died on 30 October 2017.
6.	Charlotte Atkins	Staffordshire Moorlands	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Karen Bradley
7.	Margaret Beckett	Derby South	1983		Previously MP for Lincoln (1974–1979).
8.	Anne Begg	Aberdeen South	1997	2015	Lost seat to SNP Callum McCaig
9.	Liz Blackman	Erewash	1997	2010	Retired
10.	Hazel Blears	Salford/Salford and Eccles	1997	2015	Retired
11.	Helen Brinton	Peterborough	1997	2005	Lost seat to Conservative Stewart Jackson
12.	Karen Buck	Regent's Park and Kensington North/Westminster North (2010-)	1997
13.	Christine Butler	Castle Point	1997	2001	Lost seat to Conservative Bob Spink. Died 19 September 2017.
14.	Anne Campbell	Cambridge	1992	2005	Lost seat to Liberal Democrat David Howarth.
15.	Judith Church	Dagenham	1994	2001	Retired
16.	Lynda Clark	Edinburgh Pentlands	1997	2005	Retired
17.	Ann Clwyd	Cynon Valley	1984	2019	Retired
18.	Ann Coffey	Stockport	1992	2019	Resigned from the Labour Party and joined Change UK. Retired
19.	Yvette Cooper	Pontefract and Castleford/Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford	1997
20.	Jean Corston	Bristol East	1992	2005	Retired
21.	Ann Cryer	Keighley	1997	2010	Retired
22.	Claire Curtis-Thomas	Crosby	1997	2010	Retired
23.	Valerie Davey	Bristol West	1997	2005	Lost seat to Liberal Democrat Stephen Williams.
24.	Janet Dean	Burton	1997	2010	Retired
25.	Julia Drown	South Swindon	1997	2005	Retired
26.	Gwyneth Dunwoody	Crewe/Crewe and Nantwich	1974	2008	Previously MP for Exeter (1966–1970). Died in office.
27.	Angela Eagle	Wallasey	1992
28.	Maria Eagle	Liverpool Garston/Garston and Halewood	1997
29.	Louise Ellman	Liverpool Riverside	1997	2019	Resigned from the Labour Party and retired
30.	Lorna Fitzsimons	Rochdale	1997	2005	Lost seat to Liberal Democrat Paul Rowen.
31.	Caroline Flint	Don Valley	1997	2019	Lost seat to Conservative Nick Fletcher.
32.	Barbara Follett	Stevenage	1997	2010	Retired
33.	Maria Fyfe	Glasgow Maryhill	1987	2001	Retired
34.	Linda Gilroy	Plymouth Sutton	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Oliver Colvile.
35.	Llin Golding	Newcastle-under-Lyme	1986	2001	Retired
36.	Eileen Gordon	Romford	1997	2001	Lost seat to Conservative Andrew Rosindell.
37.	Jane Griffiths	Reading East	1997	2005	Deselected
38	Harriet Harman	Camberwell and Peckham	1982
39.	Sylvia Heal	Halesowen and Rowley Regis	1997	2010	Previously MP for Mid Staffordshire (1990-1992). Retired
40.	Patricia Hewitt	Leicester West	1997	2010	Retired
41.	Margaret Hodge	Barking	1994
42.	Kate Hoey	Vauxhall	1989	2019	Retired
43.	Beverley Hughes	Stretford and Urmston	1997	2010	Retired
44.	Joan Humble	Blackpool North and Fleetwood	1997	2010	Retired
45.	Glenda Jackson	Hampstead and Highgate	1992	2015	Retired
46.	Helen Jackson	Sheffield Hillsborough	1992	2005	Retired
47.	Melanie Johnson	Welwyn Hatfield	1997	2005	Lost seat to Conservative Grant Shapps
48.	Fiona Jones	Newark	1997	2001	Lost seat to Conservative Patrick Mercer. Died in 2007.
49.	Helen Jones	Warrington North	1997	2019	Retired
50.	Jenny Jones	Wolverhampton South West	1997	2001	Retired
51.	Lynne Jones	Birmingham Selly Oak	1992	2010	Retired
52.	Tessa Jowell	Dulwich and West Norwood	1992	2015	Retired in 2015. Died in 2018.
53.	Sally Keeble	Northampton North	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Michael Ellis
54.	Ann Keen	Brentford and Isleworth	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Mary Macleod .
55.	Ruth Kelly	Bolton West	1997	2010	Retired
56.	Jane Kennedy	Liverpool Broadgreen/Liverpool, Wavertree	1992	2010	Retired
57.	Oona King	Bethnal Green and Bow	1997	2005	Lost seat to George Galloway (Respect).
58.	Tess Kingham	Gloucester	1997	2001	Retired
59.	Jackie Lawrence	Preseli Pembrokeshire	1997	2005	Retired
60.	Helen Liddell	Monklands East/Airdrie and Shotts	1994	2005	Retired
61.	Fiona Mactaggart	Slough	1997	2017	Retired
62.	Alice Mahon	Halifax	1987	2005	Retired
63.	Judy Mallaber	Amber Valley	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Nigel Mills
64.	Christine McCafferty	Calder Valley	1997	2010	Retired
65.	Siobhain McDonagh	Mitcham and Morden	1997
66.	Anne McGuire	Stirling	1997	2015	Retired
67.	Shona McIsaac	Cleethorpes	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Martin Vickers.
68.	Rosemary McKenna	Cumbernauld and Kilsyth/Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East	1997	2010	Retired
69.	Gillian Merron	Lincoln	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Karl McCartney
70.	Laura Moffatt	Crawley	1997	2010	Retired
71.	Margaret Moran	Luton South	1997	2010	Barred from standing as the Labour candidate.
72.	Julie Morgan	Cardiff North	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Jonathan Evans.
73.	Estelle Morris	Birmingham Yardley	1992	2005	Retired
74.	Kali Mountford	Colne Valley	1997	2010	Retired
75.	Mo Mowlam	Redcar	1987	2001	Retired. Died in 2005.
76.	Diana Organ	Forest of Dean	1997	2005	Retired
77.	Sandra Osborne	Ayr/Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock	1997	2015	Lost seat to SNP Corri Wilson
78.	Linda Perham	Ilford North	1997	2005	Lost seat to Conservative Lee Scott.
79.	Bridget Prentice	Lewisham East	1992	2010	Retired
80.	Dawn Primarolo	Bristol South	1987	2015	Retired
81.	Joyce Quin	Gateshead East/Gateshead East and Washington West	1987	2005	Retired
82.	Barbara Roche	Hornsey and Wood Green	1992	2005	Lost seat to Liberal Democrat Lynne Featherstone.
83.	Joan Ruddock	Lewisham Deptford	1987	2015	Retired
84.	Christine Russell	City of Chester	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Stephen Mosley
85.	Joan Ryan	Enfield North	1997/2015	2010/2019	Lost 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 Shipley	Stourbridge	1997	2005	Retired
87.	Clare Short	Birmingham Ladywood	1983	2010	Resigned from the Labour Party and retired
88.	Angela Smith	Basildon	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Stephen Metcalfe
89.	Geraldine Smith	Morecambe and Lunesdale	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative David Morris
90.	Jacqui Smith	Redditch	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Karen Lumley
91.	Helen Southworth	Warrington South	1997	2010	Retired
92.	Rachel Squire	Dunfermline West	1992	2006	Died in office
93.	Phyllis Starkey	Milton Keynes	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Iain Stewart.
94.	Gisela Stuart	Birmingham Edgbaston	1997	2017	Retired
95.	Ann Taylor	Dewsbury	1987	2005	Previously MP for Bolton West (1974–83). Retired
96.	Dari Taylor	Stockton South	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative James Wharton.
97.	Joan Walley	Stoke-on-Trent North	1987	2015	Retired
98.	Claire Ward	Watford	1997	2010	Lost seat to Conservative Richard Harrington
99.	Betty Williams	Conwy	1997	2010	Retired
100.	Rosie Winterton	Doncaster Central	1997
101.	Audrey Wise	Preston	1987	2000	Previously MP for Coventry South West (1974–9). Died in office.

See also

• Tony's Cronies

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, pg. 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

• "The Babe who fell from grace", The Daily Telegraph, 9 February 2007
• "The 'Blair babes': Where are they now?", BBC News, 8 May 2007
• Blair's Babes: Critical Mass Theory, Gender, and Legislative Life, Pippa Norris and Joni Lovenduski, 2001 (PDF)
• Social background of MPs, Parliament, Standard Note 1528, 17 November 2005 (PDF)