By Paul Goodman and Henry Hill
Later this morning, ConservativeHome publishes the complete “Cameron’s Children” – our guide to the new intake of Tory MPs. In the meantime, here is a summary in numbers:
- Almost half of those in safe seats have never fought a Parliamentary constituency before.
- Over one in three are women – up from one in four in 2010.
- Almost one in four are lawyers – compared to under a fifth in the entire 2010 Parliamentary Party.
- Over one in three is state-school educated – a drop from half of the 2010 intake.
- One in five in safe seats are members of an ethnic minority – but none in seats won from opponents appear to be.
- Half of those in seats won from opponents have public sector experience – but only one in ten in “safe” seats.
- Over two in five worked in London pre-election: the new intake is capital-centric…
- …But only about one in ten have worked for the Party or MPs (much the same as in 2010): the new intake is not Westminster-centric.
- Over three in five have local government experience. A bumper crop of former councillors.
- Over a quarter are self-made business people.
- Almost three-quarters are married.
Our snapshot take:
“On the surface, this intake looks different from those that have preceded it. Different, because a majority of its members in safe seats haven’t fought a seat before. Different, because the proportion of women is significantly higher than in 2010. Different because the proportion of ethnic minorities is higher, too – at least in the “safe” seats”. But beneath the surface, this is in many ways a very traditional Tory intake.”
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