York has a history of pioneering women from chocolate’s Mary Craven to educator Mary Ward but it wasn’t until 2015 that York sent a woman to Parliament. 100 years ago, York women, joined forces with women across the country to fight for the right to vote, as depicted so well in last year’s York Theatre Royal production of ‘Everything is Possible’. Until this point, women were not deemed capable of determining who should govern them, let alone govern themselves.

This year marks 100 years since women won the right to vote, and while women have made so many advances in society, the news this year has shown that we have a long way to go.

As the first women MP for York in 800 years, I have made it my focus to speak up for women. Only this week, having talked to so many women in the city, I asked the Government were addressing cases where women are perpetually taken to the family courts by a former partner.

The news has been littered with stories about the exploitation and objectification of women this year. On 1 January, we heard how Toby Young had been appointed to public office, resigning after MP’s highlighted a string of offensive tweets directed at women as well as controversial writing about working-class students. We have since had the disgraceful President’s Club story, where hired hostesses at a men-only dinner were exploited and harassed. The #MeToo campaign has highlighted the extent of exploitation of women. I have taken up a campaign locally to ensure that those who have experienced sexual trauma, get the support they need.

Last week, (14 December 2017) Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, spoke out to back WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) Women in a Parliamentary debate on Pension Equality.

Rachael Maskell MP for York Central met with representatives from Cats Protection in Westminster today to discuss the charity's work to increase regulation on kitten sales and also to improve air gun licensing.