Earlier this month we marked the 18-month anniversary of the 2019 General Election – a result which turned politics on its head as swathes of Labour strongholds in the North and Midlands turned blue. With the British public returning a solid Conservative majority Government, it looked like a period of some political stability was due. Instead, the new intake has had its time in Westminster significantly curtailed. MPs have been unable to travel for large periods at a time. Many have been so overwhelmed with constituency issues relating to the pandemic that they have struggled to engage with parliamentary business, their party leadership, and the private sector, to the extent that they might have wanted to. And as we saw with last week’s by-election result in Chesham and Amersham, UK politics remains in a volatile and unpredictable state, with traditional voting patterns constantly being re-written.
Despite these challenging circumstances, many of the new MPs have found ways to make their mark. 18 months on, Edelman has picked out 14 of the 140 who we believe have demonstrated they are ‘ones to watch’ over the rest of this parliamentary term. They are the next generation of ministers and shadow ministers (some high-flyers are already there), party spokespeople, select committee chairs, and Westminster movers and shakers. And with a Government reshuffle expected in the coming weeks, some may not have long to wait.