Ninety years after the first British women cast their votes in a general election, and a mere 29 years since the election of a female Prime Minister, the fairer sex have claimed perhaps their most momentous victory.

The Carlton Club, since 1832 the hallowed sanctuary of fine Conservative gentlemen, has voted to admit women as full members. Until now, only the Iron Lady herself has been granted full membership of the Georgian club in St James’s, Central London, which has been called the “spiritual home” of the Conservative Party.

Despite being the leader of her party, Margaret Thatcher was given only the title “honorary member” because of the awkward fact of her femininity. Several attempts to level the playing field since then have failed. But on Tuesday evening the Carlton’s modernisers finally achieved the two-thirds majority they needed to overturn the rule limiting women other than Baroness Thatcher to “associate member” status.

At a busy annual general meeting, with members including Michael Howard, Lord Saatchi and Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, lining the corridors and stairs, a motion in favour of full lady members was carried.

At up to £1,125 a year, this status does not come cheap, and a receptionist at said the club was still waiting on a rush of applications from hopeful female members. Nevertheless, the move was warmly welcomed in certain circles. Countess Anca Vidaeff, a resident of Grosvenor Square, said that the new rules would finally allow her to see more of friends such as Lord Northbrook over an occasional schooner of sherry.

“I am delighted to hear it will be changing, because we have been excluded for so long,” she told The Times. Countess Vidaeff, a property developer, said that the news was particularly welcome as there were few private clubs that catered for countesses. She said: “To be honest, none of them shares the same history, the same cachet. It is all about the name and the whole package.”

Whether lunch in the Churchill Room and drinks in the members’ bar, two elements of club life previously closed to women, will soon be overrun is unclear. But Jonathan Orr-Ewing, the club’s secretary, said that a committee would meet “imminently” to decide the practical details of what full female membership would mean.

In political terms, some members and prospective new admissions are hoping that the vote will restore the club’s place at the heart of the Conservative Party. The ban on women has been an embarrassment to Tories at Westminster in recent years, and David Cameron has so far refused to join, although he is a member of another gentlemen-only club, White’s.

One Carlton Club member who attended the vote said that there had been a concerted effort to get a large attendance at the AGM and that the high turnout helped to carry the motion in the face of continued opposition from a minority.

He said that more people were taking an interest in the political side of club life as the Conservatives’ fortunes revived, and they did not want sexual inequality at the Carlton to be a banana skin for the party.

Louise Bagshawe, an author, prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate and aspiring Carlton member, said: “The club will benefit, as David Cameron and the Shadow Cabinet will be able to participate enthusiastically.”

Ms Bagshawe, 36, said she would definitely join “if they will have me”. She said: “It has the richest traditions, it has been entwined with the party for hundreds of years. What the Carlton has done in its vote is to make it once again a credit to the Conservative Party and not vaguely embarrassing like an aunt that you don’t talk to too much at the Christmas party.”

But anyone hoping to bump into Mr Cameron on the stairs might be disappointed. A spokeswoman for the Conservative leader said he welcomed the rule change but had not yet filled out a membership form. “It is something we will look into, but not today,” she added.

Nor was there a stampede to St James’s from women members of the Shadow Cabinet, who have somehow reached the top of the party despite the Carlton rulebook. A spokesman for the party’s chairman, Caroline Spelman, said that she was delighted by the change but, because she had a house in London, saw no need to join.

Female emancipation

— The Carlton Club’s website declares that “only persons of full age who support the Conservative Party shall be eligible for membership”

— Most full members currently have to pay a joining fee of £900. It then costs up to £1,125 annually for those who live in London and are aged over 35, with a range of lower rates for the youngest and oldest members, those who live outside the capital, MPs and “lady associate members”

— A receptionist said yesterday that women’s full membership fees have not yet been decided but are likely to mirror men’s

— Members have access to the Morning Room (members’ bar) and two dining rooms, the Churchill and the Wellington Room

— The Churchill Room is currently for “gentlemen Members and gentlemen guests only”

— There are also 24 bedrooms at the club’s premises, below, that can be booked by members, as well as various rooms for hire for private functions

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