50th Anniversary of women’s right to independent mortgages

That this House notes that this year marks the 50th anniversary of women in the United Kingdom gaining the legal right to apply for a mortgage in their own name without requiring the consent of a father or husband, a milestone that represented a profound and overdue shift toward economic autonomy and equality for women; recognises that, although only around a third of UK homeowners today are women, progress is evident, with women now twice as likely as men to purchase a home on their own; acknowledges that this advancement is part of a wider historic struggle for women’s rights, including the powerful legacy of the suffragette movement in Epsom and Ewell, where the actions and sacrifice of campaigners such as Emily Wilding Davison continue to inspire the pursuit of equality; and calls on the Government to continue addressing structural barriers to women’s financial independence, ensuring that the progress made over the past half-century is strengthened for generations to come.