As MPs return to the House of Commons – and the headlines – this week, following the Easter recess, we take a look at what contribution Trudy Harrison makes to the chamber.
In the first of this series, analysis shows how often the Conservative MP for Copeland has voted, how many debates she has taken part in, and how many parliamentary questions she has asked since the last general election.
The figures, from the House of Commons Library, show the activities of MPs between the state opening of Parliament on December 16 2019 and March 7 this year.
Of the 491 votes over this time, Mrs Harrison, who serves in the Government, recorded 433 ayes or noes.
She recorded no vote, or abstained, on 58 occasions – giving the Tory representative a participation rate of 88 per cent.
This was above the average for all UK politicians who have sat in the House of Commons since the election (excluding the Speakers) of 81 per cent.
Several MPs had participation rates as high as 95 per cent, while fellow Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope voted in just 36 per cent of divisions.
The Conservatives had the highest average rate of 86 per cent, while Alba’s two Scottish MPs had the lowest – just 51 per cent.
Meanwhile, Labour had an overall rate of 77 per cent.
The HoC Library said MPs may not vote because they are carrying out other work related to their parliamentary, government or opposition roles.
And participation rates may be affected by ‘pairing arrangements’, whereby MPs from different parties who cannot attend a division agree to cancel out one another’s vote.
Before divisions, debates are held for Members to discuss government policy, new laws and topical issues of the day to help the House reach an informed decision.
Since the last election, Mrs Harrison, 46, has taken part in 33 debates, speaking a total of 19,226 words.
By comparison, the average MP has spoken 44,530 words over the same period, Prime Minister Boris Johnson around 394,000 and Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon a whopping 560,000.
These include spoken contributions and oral questions in the House of Commons chamber and in Westminster Hall, but not those shorter than four words.
The figures also show Mrs Harrison, who was elected to her seat on February 23, 2017, has asked two Parliamentary Questions since the last election.
These are put formally to a government minister about a matter they are responsible for – to seek information or to press for action from the Government.
Both of these were topical questions – those asked during the last 15 minutes of most ministerial question sessions.
But she has not quizzed the Prime Minister on any issues during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The HoC Library said Members with roles in Government – such as Trudy Harrison – tend to ask fewer parliamentary questions but speak relatively frequently on their portfolio subjects.
