• Source: Mother of the House (United Kingdom)

The Mother of the House is an honorific title given by tradition to the female Member of Parliament of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom with the longest uninterrupted service.
Since 4 July 2024 the Mother of the House is Diane Abbott.




History


Although the term had been used previously, the first use of the term in a ceremonial capacity was by Theresa May during the first sitting of the House following the 2017 General Election. In setting out the new tradition, Theresa May announced she was "breaking with tradition" by congratulating Harriet Harman as Mother of the House. The Centre on Constitutional Change attributes the normalisation and mainstreaming of the term to Harman, especially due to her prominence and leadership in the campaign to change the Standing Orders to allow female MPs taking maternity leave to vote in the House of Commons by proxy.
The term was used to refer to Harman for the remainder of her Parliamentary career after which time Abbott became Mother of the House following her re-election as an MP on 4 July 2024.
Historically, the term was also used by MP Noel Billing in 1920 in reference to Nancy Astor who had been elected as the first female MP to take up her seat the previous year. Astor went on to further use the term to refer to herself in 1945.




Role


Similar to the titles of Father of the House and Baby of the House, the Mother of the House is not established by Standing Order but rather by convention. However, the role of Mother of the House gives the post holder unprecedented authority and legitimacy when speaking in debates.
The title is bestowed on the female parliamentarian with the longest uninterrupted service as MP calculated by the date of the election. When two MPs have served for the same duration, it is calculated depending on the date and time on which they took the Oath of Allegiance.
There is yet to be a female Member of Parliament who has sat longer than her male counterpart, making the Father of the House more senior.
In 2024 The Mother of the House swears or affirms their allegiance at the start of a new Parliament after the Speaker of the House and the Father of the House but before the Prime Minister and any other MPs.




List


So far, no woman has been the longest-serving member of the House of Commons. The following is a chronological sequence of longest-serving female MPs via the seniority criteria used to determine the Mother of the House.
Whilst the term "Mother of the House" was first used in 1920 in reference to Nancy Astor, it did not have an official role or widespread use until 2017 when it was popularized in reference to Harriet Harman.




Scottish Parliament



The term was used to describe Dr. Winnie Ewing at the first meeting of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. However, in accordance with the standing orders of the Scottish Parliament she was referred to as the "Oldest Qualified Member" in the Scottish Parliament Official Report.




See also


Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom#Women
List of female Members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Lists of female political office-holders in the United Kingdom
Mother of the House (New Zealand)
List of most senior women in the United States Congress
Dean of the House
Father of the House




References

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