Tory stronghold Carlton Club ends 200 years of tradition by accepting women members

As a result, David Cameron may accept an invitation to join the Carlton Club in Central London.

Conservative leaders are traditionally given free life membership of the club, but Mr Cameron turned the offer down because of its long- standing refusal to give women full membership.

End of 200 year tradition: The Carlton Club, a gentleman-only club in St james Street, London for Conservative Party members, will now accept female members

The stance of the club, set up in 1832 by senior Tories, was an embarrassment to Mr Cameron and his team of modernisers who want to increase the party's appeal amongst women.

But on Monday the annual meeting of the Carlton Club voted by a two-thirds majority to

extend full membership to females.

Some 200 women are already "associate members", but they have no voting rights or any say in how the club is run.

Until now, the only full female member was Margaret Thatcher, who was given honorary membership when she became party leader in 1975.

Last night a spokesman for Mr Cameron said he welcomed the move and would be reconsidering his refusal to accept membership.

Previous votes to allow women to join have failed, but members apparently changed their tune after supporters argued that the public would no longer approve of a political party which still championed a men-only club. Last night the club's chairman Lord Cope denied that pressure had been put on the club by Conservative politicians.

He insisted that the vote was proposed by the club's committee members. But a member of the club who was present at the vote said: "The main pressure for this was coming from Tory politicians. They said, 'Look, we're going to be in power soon, so we can't be seen to be discriminating against women in this way'.

"Many members will be upset by it, but I suppose it was inevitable sooner or later."

The Conservative spokesman for women, Theresa May, said: "I'm just sorry that it took them this long to join the 21st century."

Labour said that Mr Cameron is already a member of White's, another men-only club which was once headed by his father and shows no signs of letting in women.

•The Carlton Club was founded by senior Tory peers and MPs in 1832 as a base to run the party's operations.

Its first home was the Thatched House Tavern near St James's Square, but Lord Kensington soon offered better rooms in Carlton Terrace, giving the club its name.

It moved to a more imposing building in Pall Mall in 1835 and this served as the Conservative Party's central office until the 1860s.

The Pall Mall home was bombed in the Second World War, forcing a move to the current premises in St James's Street.

The influence of the club, which has 1,600 full or honorary members, has declined as leadership of the party has moved away from its aristocratic roots.

But it was sufficiently close to the Conservative Party to be bombed by the IRA in 1990, while Mrs Thatcher was Prime Minister, causing extensive damage. One person was injured.

Many senior Conservative politicians are members, with annual fees ranging from £195 to £1,125.