It’s the end of an era for a sexist surcharge that has lasted almost half a century. Women in Britain been paying tax on period products – considered “luxury goods” – for nearly 50 years.

The tampon tax was first introduced in 1973 at a mind-boggling rate of 17.5%. This was reduced to the slightly more palatable (but still utterly unfair) 5% in 2001, thanks to MP Dawn Primarolo’s tireless activism.

Other campaigns followed in recent years, ramping up pressure on the government to scrap the tax altogether.

Now they’ve done exactly that, in a move estimated to save the average woman nearly £40 over her lifetime, thanks to a cut of 7p on a pack of 20 tampons and 5p on 12 pads.

Hurrah for the end of tampon tax: the sexist surcharge on so-called “luxury goods”