“It will be rather like freshers’ week,” said a senior official in the House of Commons when asked about the daunting prospect of 334 new MPs arriving from all parts of the UK to take their seats in parliament this week. “It is going to be huge. Most of them won’t know their way around at all or know what to do. It is a massive logistical challenge for parliament.”
Labour’s landslide victory will mean the most dramatic transformation in the make-up of the 650-seat lower house in decades, with Keir Starmer’s parliamentary party having almost doubled in size, and added 211 more members to its benches.
The Lib Dems’ success has seen them gain 64 to reach 72 MPs, while the Tories have vacated 252 seats and are down to 121. The SNP, which had been the third largest party, lost 38 seats and will number just nine. Reform UK will have five MPs, including their leader Nigel Farage, on the opposition benches for the first time, adding to the impression of change.
Erskine May’s guide to parliamentary practice states that “by custom the front bench on the right hand of the Chair [called the Treasury bench or government front bench] is appropriated for the members of the administration.”
So Labour MPs will in all probability sit where the Tories have been sitting for 14 years. But their sheer numbers will mean some may have to spill over on the opposition side if there is to be room for them all on a busy sitting. For the speaker – Sir Lindsay Hoyle is likely to re-elected to the role – it will mean learning 334 new faces in a matter of days so he can call them to speak in debates.
The House of Commons reconvenes on Tuesday to elect the speaker, after which MPs, old and new, will be officially sworn in, a process that can take several days.
Preparations for the new arrivals are well under way. A large stand has been erected in Westminster Hall saying “Welcome to Parliament” – the first advice point for new elected representatives. Four of the five Reform MPs arrived for a look round on Friday.
Then in nearby Portcullis House they will be provided with a “new MP’s buddy” (a member of the Commons staff) to help them find their way round the buildings and learn the ropes. There are also rooms specially set aside where they can sort out their new Commons email addresses, be allocated a Commons laptop and iPad, receive HR advice and be told about the MPs’ expenses regime.
A member of the Commons staff said the first days can be difficult: “The big thing will be allocating offices, which is done by the whips. This can take weeks, even months. It can be a testing time.” Temporary lockers and workspaces are on hand for the first days and weeks.
The initial ceremonial event on Tuesday will see all MPs assemble in the chamber before being led to the House of Lords. There they will receive a message from King Charles asking them to elect a speaker. They will then return to the Commons and begin the election process. The process of swearing in all 650 MPs begins and will take several days.
Starmer’s first session answering prime minister’s questions, probably with Rishi Sunak putting the questions as leader of the opposition, has been pencilled in for 24 July, the week after the state opening of parliament on 17 July.
The new parliament has a record number of women – 264 – while it will also have its highest-ever proportion of MPs educated at comprehensive schools, according to the Sutton Trust. It estimates that 63% were educated at comprehensives, although this is still lower than the overall population, which is 88%.
The new parliament will also contain a record number of 89 ethnic minority MPs, an increase of 23 and the most diverse ever, according to analysis of the election results by the thinktank British Future.
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By far the largest number of ethnic minority MPs will sit on the Labour government benches. The 2024 parliament will include 66 Labour MPs from an ethnic minority background, 16% of the new parliamentary Labour party. Around 14 ethnic minority Conservatives were elected (11.5%), alongside five Lib Dems and four new independent MPs from a minority background.
Women will again outnumber men among MPs from an ethnic minority background, with 50 ethnic minority women MPs winning seats and 39 men. Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, said: “The 2024 election is a landmark for representation, with record diversity in our parliament, closer than ever to that of the electorate. In the space of 40 years we have gone from zero to nearly one in seven MPs being from an ethnic minority background.
“The irony that it coincides with the end of Rishi Sunak’s premiership as the UK’s first British Asian prime minister only underlines how ethnic diversity has become a new norm across the main political parties.
“Better representation doesn’t guarantee better policies on inclusion. Our race debates can often feel as polarised as ever. But a stronger share of voice matters. When the new Commons raises issues of race, ethnic minority MPs will be there to bring their lived experience to the debate.”