Westminster portrait project 250 MPs

The Royal Photographic Society’s Women in Photography group said on May 21 that its “40% Project” had released a new set of portraits of women MPs to mark women holding about 40% of seats in the British Parliament. The group says the project was launched after the 2024 general election, when women reached their highest level of representation in Westminster. Organisers say around 130 women photographers have now photographed more than 250 serving women MPs. The portraits are being published through an online gallery and will feed into a book and exhibition programme. ### Why does the project use “40%” as its name? The Royal Photographic Society says the project refers to the share of parliamentary seats now held by women after the 2024 general election. On the project page, the society says there are now 265 women MPs, representing about 40% of total seats in Parliament. The RPS says that level is the highest in British history and describes the work as a “national portrait series” intended to create a photographic record of the women now shaping Parliament. The group says portraiture was chosen to preserve the moment as part of the visual record of public life. ### Who is behind the portraits, and how broad is the effort? Sue Wright, chair of the RPS Women in Photography group, told Digital Camera World that about 130 women photographers have photographed more than 250 women MPs so far. (rps.org) Wright said the organisers felt the moment “needed to be documented — not just politically, but photographically too.” The RPS says the photographers include members, students and emerging photographers from across the UK, all volunteering their time. On its project page, the society says each photographer worked directly with an MP and that sittings took place in Westminster, in constituencies or in locations with personal meaning to the subject. ### What are organisers saying the portraits are meant to capture? (digitalcameraworld.com) Sue Wright told Digital Camera World: “This isn’t about politics. It’s about representation.” She said the group wanted “to create a visual record of a moment in history before it simply became another statistic.” (rps.org) The RPS says the portraits are intended to show “the individuality, leadership and contribution” of women MPs, and to document what it calls a moment of social change. In the online gallery text, the group says each portrait is made by a woman photographer and presented as part of a wider record of women’s visibility in public life. ### Which MPs appear in the project? (digitalcameraworld.com) Digital Camera World said the published portraits include MPs from across the political spectrum, including former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, now of Reform UK, and Green Party MP Hannah Spencer. The article also highlighted portraits of Labour MPs Abtisam Mohamed, Uma Kumaran and Ashley Dalton. (rps.org) The RPS online gallery also includes Diane Abbott, the independent MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, with accompanying text describing the gallery as a “living record” of women in Parliament. ### What happens next with the project? The RPS says the portraits are already being published in the 40% online gallery and that the wider legacy plan includes a photobook, exhibitions and a historical archive. (digitalcameraworld.com) The group says the project is nearing completion. Digital Camera World reported that selected portraits are scheduled to open in a public exhibition at the Houses of Parliament on June 15, 2026. (rps.org) Organisers have also said the full body of work is intended for a commemorative book later this year. (digitalcameraworld.com) (rps.org)