While waiting - like all us - for news from the Liberal Democrats, Grant Shapps MP has been number crunching on the new Tory intake. Here are his conclusions:
- Fewer than one in five current Conservative MP’s were in Parliament during the last Conservative government under John Major.
- 56 – or 18% – Conservative MPs served in the Commons before 1997.
- 49% of Conservative MPs are newly elected.
- More than four-fifths (81.6%) of current Tory MPs were first elected in 1997 or later.
- 9 Conservative MPs (3%) were first elected in 1979 or earlier.
- Three MPs remain from pre-1974: Sir Peter Tapsell, Ken Clarke and Sir Alan Haslehurst.
- 54 Tory MPs remain from the 2005 intake; 22 from 2001 and 24 from the 1997-2001 Parliament.
- 18 MPs, first elected in the 1983-87 Parliament are on the Conservative benches.
Interesting stuff.
Jonathan Isaby has already listed the 36 A-listers who became MPs and also a full list of the parliamentary party.
Tim Montgomerie
