A private members club has voted overwhelmingly to allow women to join them for the first time in their 163 year history.
Of the around 200 members who attended an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday evening, 86 per cent voted in favour of ladies joining.
The Royal Northern and University Club (RNUC) in Aberdeen made the vote following years of pressure to allow women into the club.
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It had been a topic of much debate at the club for a number of years, but when its new chairman Robert Smith was elected in November, he decided to once again push for change.
Mr Smith, who himself has been a member of the RNUC since 2003, said that after consulting with members he realised there was a desire for women to join.
He said: "Immediately after I became chairman in November last year I held a consultation exercise among the membership as it was quite evident that there was an increasing number of them who supported a fundamental change.
"Ladies have of course always been welcome in the club as guests, but that consultation showed there was a significant majority of members in favour of the change, and accordingly I called an extraordinary general meeting.
"There was an excellent turnout, one of the biggest turnouts I have seen in a considerable number of years, and 86 per cent of those present voted in favour of the change.
"This change is welcome.
"Among the legal, medical, accountancy and other professions in the wider business community, there are number of ladies in senior posts who I am sure would enjoy the conviviality and relaxation which comes with club membership, and as chairman I look forward to receiving their applications for membership going forward."
Aberdeen North MP Kirsty Blackman said the move is positive for women in the north-east and thinks it will help the reputation of the club.
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She said: "The exclusion of women from private members clubs is a custom that may have been commonplace in previous centuries, but now that we've evolved a bit this sort of discrimination needs to end.
"I am pleased to see this club overturned their previous position and I am sure it will do their reputation much good to have made this long overdue change."
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