Yesterday was #AskHerToStand day as it marked 100 years since the law was changed to give women the right to stand for Parliament. In those 100 years 491 women have been elected to Parliament compared to 4503 men and despite entering the 21st century only 32% of current MPs are women.

The day saw MPs from all parties invite women from their constituencies to take part and was organised by 50:50 Parliament, Jo Cox Foundation, and Centenary Action.

I was pleased to welcome Claire Gaygen from Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College to Parliament and I will be doing all I can to support the campaign so that our democratic institutions better reflect the communities we serve.