ABOVE: Jenny Willott MP, Liberal Democrats

AR: But there is a very horrid, at times, bullying atmosphere in the House. I saw Maria Eagle, when David Cameron was talking about the economy about six months ago, just doing this at him the whole time [waggles her little finger] – ‘little willy’.

JW: It does happen on both sides. I was going downstairs to a vote with Toby when he was little – about six months old – when a young female MP said, “You might want to get out of the way, dear. We’re actually going to vote now.”

AR: The one that I found upsetting really was when David Cameron referred to Nadine Dorries as being ‘frustrated’. Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) is an extraordinary atmosphere and I don’t think he meant it the way it came out, but he paused at ‘frustrated’ and there was this Benny Hill laughter across the house. There is a hotbed of bullying that’s very difficult to break but I also think there are a load of new MPs who won’t behave like that.

SC: I had Toby Young tweeting that he could see my breasts during PMQs and when I said, “No you can’t because I’m not actually there today,” he said, “Oh, sorry for my mistake.” I said, “That’s not the mistake you made.” I don’t share your confidence that it will get better unless we consciously and purposefully say: this has got to change because of the message it sends to the country.

JW: It’s a generational thing. The 2010 intake and the 2005 intake are much better.

How do you feel about having a health secretary who thinks it’s right for him to make an observation on abortion so that we all know how he’d vote if there was a law change?

JW: There are very few occasions when I would defend Jeremy Hunt, believe me, but someone asked him a question and he answered it. And quite frankly, I would be more worried if the health secretary hadn’t answered a question about abortion when asked. I’m completely pro-choice and we’ve had a series of votes on this in the last couple of years and Parliament is in favour of keeping it at 24 weeks. Every MP including Jeremy Hunt is on record as to what they voted – everybody knows where he stands.

Don’t you think it sent out the message that women’s bodies were actually promising territory for male politics?

JW: No, because the main person who brings this up in Parliament is Nadine Dorries.

SC: There’s a difference between people who are public about it and people lobbying for it in private. I’ve been approached by people on your side Amber asking whether I was going to turn with them.

AR: But it’s not political. Jeremy has said he would not seek to change the law, this is his personal opinion. He said, “I’m not going to change the law but my personal view has not changed.”

What should your party do to get more women, so it is representative; so a half-and-half society isn’t represented by one in five?

SC: I was selected on All Women’s Shortlist (AWS). Do I think that all-women shortlists are the only thing we need to do? Absolutely not. But I’m proud to have been selected through it, because I genuinely think I was up against some incredible women. But we haven’t celebrated the impact AWS has had, not just on women coming forward, but on the quality of the debate when you get men and women debating together.

AR: My party thinks, and I think, to say anything that is exclusively men or exclusively women is a mistake. So the way you reform it is by changing people who are on the selection board, and you deal with it by training them. We’re doing it at the moment. Yes, only 16% [of Conservative MPs are female] but it was 4% in 2001.

SC: But we had AWS and there has been a big push forward. I know it’s difficult because all parties are struggling with this, but I cannot see another way that means we don’t just have slow trickle, that once every four years we might get a few more women in.

JW: I have to confess I’m in a distinct minority in my party on this and I actually agree with Stella on all-women lists. When I was a candidate in 2001, in our target seats, out of 80, I think eight of us were women. That’s completely ridiculous. I just don’t believe out of those 80 seats 72 of the best candidates were men. Clearly, it’s nonsense.

What do you think? Do you believe that the current Government represents women and women's issues enough - and what can Parliament do to get more women in politics, at all levels? Let us know in the comments below

Sexism in the corridors of power