Behind the Benches: What new 2024 MPs’ Commons Activity Reveals

The Commons is full of first time MPs. But are they or Parliament any more active than before?

In Behind the Benches: What New 2024 MPs’ Commons Activity Reveals, PoliMonitor tracks over 72,000 contributions made by the record-breaking 336 first-time MPs elected last year. From silent backbenchers to question-writing machines, we’ve crunched the numbers to reveal who’s making their mark and how.
This isn’t just a game of league tables. These patterns tell us which MPs are finding their footing, which parties are prioritising scrutiny, and why some of the newest names in Westminster are leaning hard on Written Questions to cut through.

From Farage fading to Lib Dem EDM surges, and from quiet Labour caution to the rise of Ben Obese-Jecty, Andrew Snowden and Ellie Chowns there’s a lot going on behind the green benches.

This PoliMonitor research was featured on BBC 5 Live in an interview with Matt Chorley in September 2025 and is available to listen to here.