David Cameron forgets to mention there is now a record number of gay MPs in Parliament
Video: Why did the Prime Minister mention other changes to the new House of Commons set-up, but not the other new, noticeable record?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.David Cameron had more than one reason to be beaming from ear to ear in the first session of Parliament since the 2015 general election.
The Conservative leader won his party its first outright majority in 23 years, ensuring the Tories no longer have to deal with the Liberal Democrats in a coalition.
Yet the Prime Minister is also overseeing a House of Commons at its most diverse: one in three MPs are female, compared with just one in five a decade previously; and black and minority ethnic (BAME) MPs now make up 6.6 per cent of the Commons, up from 4.2 per cent in 2010.
Mr Cameron mentioned the new figures in his first address to the Commons: "I'm particularly pleased to be able to say that the house is now more diverse and more representative than ever before. We have the highest number of women MPs, the highest number of MPs from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, we have the first MP of Chinese origin, women ministers now make up a third of those round the cabinet table, and include the first woman of Indian descent."
Of course, these figures still don't reflect the makeup of the population: to accurately mirror the UK, half the MPs in Parliament should be female, and while 6.6 per cent of the Commons are BAME, the BAME population in the UK is 14.1 percent.
However, Mr Cameron failed to mention that there are now 32 MPs in the Commons who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual (LGB, there are still no transgender MPs). That's 4.9 percent, and closer to the population figure, which is between five and seven percent. The Guardian's David Shariatmadari noted that "Britain finds itself with the queerest legislature in the world".
So it seems bizarre that Mr Cameron would fail to mention the impressive feat in the newly-elected Parliament.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments