Who've been the top contributing MPs in Parliamentary sessions in early 2024?
The news may be full of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer and the weekly shouting match during PMQs but away from the media maelstrom, which are the top contributing MPs across the range of debates that takes place in Parliament?
You could watch hours of Parliament TV to get a feel of who is saying what, but to be honest who has the time (or inclination!) for that. We analyse MP's contributions in Parliament (as recorded by Commons Hansard) so you can see who is saying what about which topics quickly and easily.
So, during a busy start to 2024 at Westminster, which MP's contributed the most during January and February 2024 in Parliament?
As you can see from the list on the right, Lee Rowley (Conservative MP for North East Derbyshire and Minister for Housing) takes the prize for the most contributing MP (as ranked by words spoken recorded in Commons Hansard). This position is gained mainly through his work on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill but also through other housing related contributions
Three of the top 5 are Conservative MPs, with Democratic Unionist Party MP, Jim Shannon, and Labour MP, Alex Norris being the other two.
In second place, Jim Shannon's contributions were across an eclectic mix of subjects including Cycle Trails, Digital Exclusion, Obesity, Steel, Balochistan Human Rights and many others.
Further down, the prize for being the only Backbench MP in the list goes to Barry Gardiner (Labour).
In some respects, it's perhaps not unexpected that the "All MPs" list above is dominated by Ministers and Shadow Ministers as they make their contributions under the respective ministerial and shadow ministerial roles.
So who appears in the list when it is filtered by Back Bench MPs? Well, as the league table shows below, the list takes on a different feel...
Three of the top 5 Backbench MP's are Labour (all of whom have been previous Shadow Ministers), with Conservative MP's being the other two. Whilst more broadly, six of the Top 10 Backbench MP's are Conservative, with 4 being from other parties.
As alluded to above, Barry Gardiner tops the list of Backbench MPs. His appearance in the list comes mainly from his work on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill Public Bill Committee but also through his contributions in debates on Offshore Petroleum, Antisemitism, Biodiversity Gain and Post Office Horizon
John McDonnell makes it into second place in the league through an eclectic mix of contributions in debates ranging from Eating Disorders, Gaza, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Disability, Tidal Range Energy Generation and many others.
Further down the list, Caroline Lucas of the Green Party makes it into the Top 10 with her contributions in debates such as Green Technologies, Offshore Petroleum, Clean Air, and Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.
Patrick Grady of the SNP makes it onto the list with his contributions on debates such as Economic Growth, Legal Migration, Trident Renewal, Eritrea Human Rights, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases and many others.
Of course, across the months of January and February 2024 each political party has its own top contributing Front and Backbench MPs. The charts below show the top contributing MPs for individual parties in Parliament.
These were the top contributing Backbench and Frontbench Conservative MPs with Tim Loughton and Lee Rowley topping the respective lists...
These were the top contributing Backbench and Frontbench Labour MPs with Barry Gardiner and Alex Norris topping the respective lists...
Looking at other political parties, these were the top contributing MP's for the SNP, Lib Dems and Democratic Unionist Party with Alison Thewliss, Tim Farron and Jim Shannon topping the respective lists...
All MPs that appear in the league tables shown above deserve to be commended for the work they do which often goes unnoticed in the mainstream media but which provides a valuable role in our democratic system and often forms an invaluable service to constituents who otherwise would not a voice.
All the information above is taken from the ScrutinyCounts mobile app which is available on Apple AppStore and Google Playstore. Within the app, there is click-thru functionality which lets you see the debates in which the MP's have participated, the full debate content and the contributions they have made.
The app uses data as reported in Commons Hansard and presents it in an easy to digest format which enables users to quickly and easily read what MPs are discussing in Parliament. Its quicker and easier to use than ParliamentTV and lets you see what is being said without any bias or spin which so often permeates through mainstream media reporting.