Judith Cummins: How much and what does the Bradford South MP do?

As MPs return to the House of Commons following the Easter recess, we will be taking a look at different MPs' contributions to parliamentary matters each day.

The data is broken down by how many times the MP has voted, how many debates the MP has taken part in and how many parliamentary questions the MP has asked since the last general election.

In the final part of this series, we will take a look at the contributions of Judith Cummins, the Labour MP for Bradford South.

Votes by Judith Cummins MP

The figures from the House of Commons Library (HoC) show the activities of MPs between the state opening of Parliament on December 16, 2019 and March 7, 2022.

Of the 491 votes over this time, Judith Cummins recorded 362 ayes or noes.

The backbench MP recorded no vote or abstained on 129 occasions – giving the representative a participation rate of 74 per cent.

This is below the 81 per cent average for all UK politicians who have sat in the House of Commons since the election (excluding the Speakers).

Ms Cummins stood in as a temporary Deputy Speaker for one week during this time period.

The HoC Library said MPs may not vote because they are carrying out other work related to their parliamentary, government or opposition roles.

Participation rates may be affected by ‘pairing arrangements’, whereby MPs from different parties who cannot attend a division agree to cancel out one another’s vote.

Before divisions, debates are held for Members to discuss government policy, new laws and topical issues of the day to help the House reach an informed decision.

The Conservatives had the highest average participation rate of 86 per cent while Labour had an overall rate of 77 per cent.

Debates 

Since the last election, Ms Cummins has taken part in 87 debates, speaking a total of 24,301 words.

By comparison, the average MP has spoken 44,530 words over the same period. 

These include spoken contributions and oral questions in the House of Commons chamber and in Westminster Hall, but not those shorter than four words.

Read more like this: 

• Philip Davies: How much does your MP do?
• Naz Shah: How much does your MP do?
• Imran Hussain: How much does your MP do?
• Robbie Moore: How much does your MP do?

Parliamentary Questions

The figures show Judith Cummins has asked 174 Parliamentary Questions since the last election.

These are put formally to a government minister about a matter they are responsible for, to seek information or to press for action from the Government.

This included 22 put to a government minister in person, 143 in writing and seven topical questions – those asked during the last 15 minutes of most ministerial question sessions.

The backbencher asked two during Prime Minister's Questions – the weekly session when the PM faces scrutiny in the House.

Life as an MP

Responding to the figures, Ms Cummins said: "Being an MP means balancing my duties in Parliament with the work to support my constituents in Bradford South. MPs effectively work in two places.

"Like Philip Davies, I am appointed by the Speaker of the House to the Panel of Chairs. This is an important role in parliamentary democracy. However, it does mean that I am unable to take part in debates or vote on those public bill committees and delegated legislation committees which I am chairing. 

"I have also served as Deputy Speaker, which similarly means that I could not take part on certain votes in the chamber.

"It is typical that MPs of the governing party would generally have higher vote participation than opposition MPs. They would usually be supporting their own governments legislation on topics that opposition MPs may not vote on.

"I am Chair and Vice Chair of a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups. Commonly referred to as ‘APPGs’, these are groups of MPs from all parties who come together to work on specific issues.

"I chair the APPG on Osteoporosis and Bone Health, which has recently produced a report on improving vital access on Fracture Liaison Services.

"I also Chair the Rugby League APPG, which is promoting the positive social and economic impact of the sport in cities like Bradford.

"Additionally, I am vice-chair of several other APPGs, such as dentistry working on improving access to NHS dentists, and dementia that works on issues that are important to me and my constituents."

The MP added: "Whilst we may not always agree with each other, I do acknowledge that all my Bradford district colleagues work hard for the district and take seriously the importance of keeping constituents up to date on what we are doing. As part of this, each of us takes a turn to write a weekly column in the Telegraph & Argus to report back on our recent work and to share our views on topical issues."