Change.org has published a People Power Index measuring how responsive MPs were to their constituents during the 2017-19 session. The rankings put Daniel Kawczynski, who was MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham, close to the bottom. Mark Pritchard, who represented the Wrekin, is even worse. Philip Dunne, Ludlow, is more than halfway down the rankings though very close to the mediocre average for the Tories. Lucy Allen in Telford scores highest for Shropshire’s five MPs during.
Looking at the parties standing in Shropshire, the Lib Dems top the People Power Index for responsiveness (though beaten by Caroline Lucas, the sole Green MP). Labour comes second. The Tories a miserable third.
There were 650 MPs elected for the 2017-19 session. Change.org has looked at their record in raising constituency issues in Commons, MPs attendance and their responsiveness to constituents. It is an interesting analysis that show that MPs no longer ignore their constituents. The methodology is novel and may be best described as a first stab at creating a ranking to call MPs to account. But it rings true for Shropshire. The loftiness of Daniel Kawczynski from his constituents is not a surprise. Mark Pritchard has become active locally in recent months in opposing green belt housing at Tong but this is a record for the parliamentary session. Lucy Allen has spoken several times in the Commons on local issues.
The average ranking of an MP is, obviously, 325. Only Lucy Allen beats this. Dunne, Paterson, Kawczynski and Pritchard trail below average in the field of 650 MPs.
Parliament’s sole green MP, Caroline Lucas, has a respectable ranking of 171, well above average. The graph below shows that Lib Dems are easily the most responsive party, beating Labour and the Conservatives by a good way.
This analysis tells us a lot about the different cultures in the three political parties. The Lib Dems have a tradition of working closely with their communities and putting their constituents first. Sixty-five of the least responsive MPs are Tories. Twenty-three are Labour. None are Lib Dems. (The balance is made up of other parties.)
There is a lot of food for thought in this People Power Index.