There is a ‘long way to go’ until the House of Commons is representative of the public, says Manchester MP Lucy Powell.
There are currently 504 male MPs, compared to just 146 female, while only 27 members of parliament are from an ethnic minority.
Mrs Powell, the Labour MP for Central Manchester, thinks a lot more needs to be done to make Westminster a fair reflection of the country.
She said: “We’ve still got a long way to go to make sure the parliament reflects the public we represent.”
In 2011, the Institute for Government said Westminster was ‘overwhelmingly white, male and middle-class’.
High costs of becoming an MP were also blamed for the lack of diversity; after it emerged one MP had sold her house in order to get elected.
Mrs Powell added: “We have taken strides, if you go back 20 years most MPs were middle aged, white men, who very rarely visited their constituency, and it’s not like that anymore.
“There’s a lot more women, mums, dads, people from different backgrounds, but we continually look to improve that.”
Meanwhile, Mrs Powell has also waded in on the debate about David Miliband’s departure from the Labour party.
Mr Miliband announced last week he was to leave his post as MP for South Shields to take up a job as the head of the International Rescue Committee in New York.
She added: “I think it’s a brave decision, I know he’s been looking for something to do on the international arena for a while.
“It’s a very important job and I wish him well. When any big figure leaves it’s a loss, but he’s made that decision for himself and that’s all you can do.”
Image reproduced with permission of Parliament, with thanks.
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