A record number of women MPs have been elected to the House of Commons following the general election – but the proportion of male MPs still radically outnumbers female counterparts.

Some 220 women won seats in the 2019 poll, 12 more than two years ago.

The ratio of female MPs in the House of Commons is still just 34 per cent and the different political parties vary massively in terms of gender breakdown.

Only one in four Conservative Party MPs are female but the party has 20 more MPs than it did at the last election.

The Labour Party now has 104 women MPs - marking the first time either the Tories or Labour has had more female than male representatives in parliament.

Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Show all 10 1 /10 Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Dennis Skinner - Labour Labour MP of 49 years Dennis Skinner lost his Bolsover seat to Conservative Mark Fletcher, losing 16% of the vote share PA Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Jo Swinson - Liberal Democrat Leader of the Liberal Democrats lost her Dunbartonshire East seat in a 6.8% swing to the SNP PA Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Anna Soubry - The Independent Group for Change Leader of The Independent Group for Change, formerly Conservative MP, Anna Soubry lost her Broxtowe seat, coming third behind the winning Conservatives and Labour PA Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Dominic Grieve - Independent Prominent Remain-backing MP Grieve lost the contest for Beaconsfield, coming second to the Conservatives, his former party AFP/Getty Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Luciana Berger - Liberal Democrat Luciana Berger lost the contest for Finchley and Golders Green, coming second to Conservative Mike Freer PA Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Laura Pidcock - Labour Prominent Corbyn ally Laura Pidcock lost her Durham North West seat to Conservative Richard Holden PA Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Chukka Umunna - Liberal Democrat Prominent anti-Brexit MP Chukka Umunna lost the contest for the Cities of London & Westminster, coming second to Conservative Nickie Aiken Getty Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Zac Goldsmith - Conservative Former candidate for Mayor of London Zac Goldsmith lost his Richmond Park seat to Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney PA Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Nigel Dodds - DUP Former leader of the DUP Nigel Dodds lost his Belfast North seat to Sinn Fein AFP/Getty Big beasts lose their seats: Prominent MPs gone after election Gareth Snell - Labour Labour MP Gareth Snell lost his Stoke-on-Trent central seat to the Conservatives PA

But several high-profile women MPs lost their seats as the Conservatives gained a landslide victory, most notably Jo Swinson, who has stepped down as Liberal Democrat leader after losing her seat to the SNP.

Frontline service providers raised concerns the rise in female MPs would not necessarily translate into concrete change for women’s rights or reverse cuts to women’s services.

Vivienne Hayes, chief executive of the Women’s Resource Centre, the leading national umbrella organisation for the women’s sector in the UK, said: “Congratulations to the individual women because we know it is not easy to step forward as a woman MP. Many women resigned prior to the election due to the horrendous level of sexism women across all parties face.

“We have to honour them for having the courage to stand, however that does not mean just any women will prioritise women’s rights. We need women in positions of power which have a clear analysis of structural inequality, which includes racism, for us to actually see them prioritise this.

“I would like to see women MPs putting their political tribalism behind them and working to together to address the calamitous levels of sexism and racism women are facing. Women’s services are already on a knife-edge. They have had their funding decimated and there is no indication it is going to be reversed. We call upon Boris Johnson to support the life-saving women’s organisations in this country.”

Ms Hayes, who has worked in the women’s sector for over 30 years, said there had been a “horrendous spike” in racism in the country which black and minority ethnic women are disproportionately bearing the brunt of.

Some 86 per cent of the burden of austerity since 2010 has fallen on women, research carried out by the House of Commons Library concluded in 2017.

Frances Scott, director and founder of 50:50 Parliament, a cross-party campaign to reach gender equality in Westminster, said: "It has gone up by a paltry 12 women. At this rate, it is going to take half a century to get gender balance. It is too slow. We have a democratic deficit. We should have equal seats and equal say."

Women MPs stood down before the general election due to being subjected to “horrific abuse” and parliament becoming increasingly “bullish” and “intimidating” for women, campaigners previously warned.

According to the House of Commons Library, more than half of Labour Party candidates were female and 31 per cent of Conservative Party candidates were women.