Starmer’s Sisterhood! MPs elected in Labour’s landslide pose for Vogue

In 1997 they were known as ‘Blair’s Babes’ and in 2010 they became ‘Cameron’s Cuties’; so in 2024 they have been dubbed ‘Starmer’s Sisterhood’.

Thirteen MPs elected as part of Labour’s landslide last month are featured in the September issue of British Vogue.

The fashion bible has titled them the ‘women MPs determined to change Britain for the better’ and they have promised a ‘shift’ in British politics.

Six of the ‘Vogue 13’ are newly-elected MPs, while seven have returned to the House of Commons following the general election on 4 July.

But, since they posed for a glossy photoshoot with the magazine, two of their number – Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana – have been suspended from Labour.

This followed their rebellion against Sir Keir over the King’s Speech, as they backed an amendment in favour of scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

Thirteen MPs elected as part of Labour’s landslide last month are featured in the September issue of British Vogue

Tony Blair famously posed for a photograph with most of the 101 female Labour MPs elected as part of his 1997 landslide victory

The images led to the female MPs being known as led to them being known as ‘Blair’s Babes’.

Bell Riberio-Addy, the 39-year-old who was re-elected to Parliament as Clapham and Brixtol Hill MP on 4 July, told the magazine that Labour‘s landslide had ushered in ‘the most representative parliament in history’.

Helena Dollimore, 30, who was newly-elected as MP for Hastings and Rye last month, said: ‘We’re going to see a shift in the way we saw [with] the biggest intake of women in 1997.

‘For the first time, Parliament started talking about childcare and domestic violence properly.

‘The same could happen this time with the huge change we’ve seen – we’ve already seen that in who’s leading the country.’

Tony Blair famously posed for a photograph with most of the 101 female Labour MPs elected as part of his 1997 landslide victory, which led to them being known as ‘Blair’s Babes’.

Prior to the 2010 general election, David Cameron selected a number of female candidates in safe Tory seats as he pushed to change the image of the party.

Many of them took part in a glossy photoshoot prior to election night, including future Cabinet ministers Kemi Badenoch, Priti Patel and Penny Mordaunt – which saw them dubbed ‘Cameron’s Cuties’.

The 1997 general election saw a total of 120 women elected to the House of Commons, exactly double the number elected in 1992.

On July 4 this year, a record number of women were elected to Parliament with 263 of the 650 MPs (40 per cent) now female. This was up from 220 in 2019.

But Louise Haigh, 37, the Transport Secretary and MP for Sheffield Heeley, hailed Labour’s new Government as ‘not just much more female, it’s much more representative of the country at large’.

‘It’s just much more normal than any cabinet, I think, that’s ever sat before it,’ she added.

Stratford and Bow MP Uma Kamaran, 38, now holds the distinction of being the first British politician of Sri Lankan Tamil descent.

‘You feel the weight of history,’ she said. ‘I’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support from the Tamil diaspora.’

Kettering MP Rosie Wrighting, 27, described how she took leave from her job as a buyer for fashion website Asos to stand in her Northamptonshire constituency.

She said her ‘real-world experience’ of struggling at university when ‘there wasn’t money at the end of the month, despite working full-time’ prompted her to get into politics.

‘Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever walked into the House of Commons,’ she told the magazine. ‘I’ve never been in the building before.’ 

Since the ‘Vogue 13’ posed for a glossy photoshoot, two of their number – Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana – have been suspended from Labour

On July 4 this year, a record number of women were elected to Parliament with 263 of the 650 MPs (40 per cent) now female. This was up from 220 in 2019

Gen Kitchen, 29, who first won her Wellingborough seat at a by-election in February before being re-elected in July, recounted her emotions on election night when her constituency was projected by the exit poll to be too close to call.

‘I went upstairs, had a bit of a cry in the shower, listened to some piano versions of Taylor Swift’s Reputation and then I got myself together,’ she said.