Nicky Morgan says it is 'extraordinary' no woman has ever been Treasury Committee Chair

The former education secretary is competing against five men for the influential role in Parliament

Ex-education secretary Theresa May is competing for the Treasury Committee post (Getty)

Ex-cabinet minister Nicky Morgan has said it is “extraordinary” that some top political jobs have still never been held by a woman, as she vies to become the first female Treasury Committee chair.

Ms Morgan will face a field of five men in the vote to be held on Wednesday, selecting who wields the chair’s power to hold the Government to account.

Speaking to The Independent, she said she would push for the committee to go beyond areas like financial services and scrutinise a broader range of Treasury work – including looking at issues like household debt and childcare funding.

Ms Morgan, who has been an education secretary, treasury minister and also held the equalities brief, said: “I believe this is a job I can do, having worked at the Treasury, but there is always an interest in breaking new ground.

“I just think that it is extraordinary that in 2017, we are still breaking new ground.”

She added: “Obviously it should be about choosing the right person for the job, with the skills and ability to do it, but I’m very pleased that we don’t have a field of six men standing for an important role.”

Other candidates for the post, which came up after previous holder Andrew Tyrie stood down, include MPs Richard Bacon, Charlie Elphicke, Stephen Hammond, John Penrose and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

The post must be held by a Conservative MP as it always goes to backbencher from the governing party.

Ms Morgan added: “If we want Parliament to be truly representative then it has got to look like the country it aspires to represent.

“Obviously 50 per cent of the population are female.”

Elections for the Treasury Committee and nine other bodies will take place on 12 July, with chair posts becoming increasingly powerful in recent years.

Ms Morgan, who left the frontbench when Ms May took up residence in Downing Street, said she would take a collaborative approach to the job, working with MPs in all parties to ensure the committee maximises its clout.

She has already been one of the loudest voices questioning the actions of Ms May’s administration from the Conservative benches, over issues ranging from grammar schools to Brexit.

Leaving the EU is likely to form a large part of the committee’s work, but Ms Morgan has said that in addition to its usual remit, covering the Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority and HMRC, she would want the committee to go further.

Other areas for exploration could include household debt, skills funding, childcare funding and a lack of gender diversity in financial services.

She said: “A lot of it has been forecasts and financial services, the aftermath of the banking crisis.

“But the economy underpins everything and the remit of the Treasury is broad, so the committee’s work should be too.”