MP data: Parliamentary activities
This interactive dashboard presents data on the parliamentary activities of MPs in Westminster. It aims to give an overview of the areas individual MPs are focusing on.
This interactive dashboard presents data on the parliamentary activities of MPs in Westminster. It aims to give an overview of the areas individual MPs are focusing on.
You can see how an MP voted in divisions, and which words they used most in debates in the Commons Chamber and Westminster Hall. It also shows which issues they press the Government on via parliamentary questions and the causes and views they support by signing early day motions.
Finally, it shows the kinds of topics they raise by initiating debates, urgent questions and introducing Private Members’ Bills, and by selecting petitions to present on behalf of their constituents.
More information on these parliamentary activities is provided on the UK Parliament website’s glossary pages.
You can select a constituency to see who the MP is, and which party they represent. Find which constituency you live in here. Data on MPs’ activities is reported from the start of the 2024 Parliament (17 July 2024). We aim to update the dashboard every month when Parliament sits.
If you would like to access this information in an alternative format please email papers@parliament.uk and we will review your request.
Notes on the data used On MPs
When a constituency is selected, the dashboard will show data for the MP for that constituency on the last date of the period covered. If the constituency had no MP on that date, then that constituency won’t be available to select in the drop-down menu. If a constituency’s MP has changed following a by-election, data will only cover the most recent MP.
Note that as MPs elected for Sinn Féin do not take their seats, there is no data for these MPs.
On MP rolesThe roles MPs hold affect their participation in the activities presented in the dashboard: for example, government ministers do not ask parliamentary questions but tend to speak relatively frequently on their portfolio subjects.
Opposition spokespeople have more freedom, although lead spokespeople concentrate on their portfolios.
Speakers and Deputy Speakers do not take part in divisions and Whips speak less often. If an MP is particularly active on a certain subject area, this could be a consequence of a role they hold rather than their own initiative.
The dashboard indicates whether an MP holds a government position, an opposition position, or is Speaker or Deputy Speaker. It does not give information on what these roles are, or previous roles; this information can be found on the Parliament website’s Members pages. Similarly, the dashboard shows any committees an MP currently sits on and any All-Party Parliamentary Groups they work with.
On MP interestsThe dashboard aims to give an overview of the kind of things an MP is working on in Westminster. However, the activities shown on the dashboard are not an exact reflection of their priorities and interests. For example, political parties often ask their MPs to table questions and to vote in particular ways.
On other parliamentary activitiesMPs do lots of other things that are not captured in the dashboard, for example meeting with constituents, ministers and campaigners. MPs who do not, for example, speak much in debates may be busy working behind the scenes.
On votingSometimes MPs do not vote because their whips have agreed ‘pairing arrangements’, whereby MPs from different parties who cannot attend a division agree to cancel out one another’s vote. These arrangements are not public, but they would affect an MP’s participation rate. If an MP uses a proxy vote, the vote is still recorded in their name. And sometimes MPs do not vote because their whips tell them they do not need to.
On speaking in the ChamberSome MPs may get more opportunities to speak in the Chamber than others. The Speaker calls MPs who have indicated they want to speak, and time limits are imposed on busy debates.
More informationMore information on the data included in the dashboard is available from the UK Parliament website:
- Written Parliamentary Questions and their answers, as well as written statements.
- Early Day Motions.
- Divisions.
- Committees.
- Contributions to debates and oral questions are reported in Hansard, which can be searched, for example by MP, vote, or debate.
- Each Private Member’s Bill has a dedicated bill page.
- For developers, a range of data is available through APIs.
This dashboard is in active development and we welcome any views, comments and suggestions emailed to papers@parliament.uk. While we welcome feedback, we cannot respond substantively to each suggestion.