Tristan Donovan reports on which new MPs have connections with the voluntary sector and we show where they were elected.
The 2010 general election will doubtless go down in history as the election that no party won. But it will also be remembered as an election that saw Parliament filled with many new faces.
The expenses scandal, the retirement of numerous MPs and the shift in voting patterns have produced a House of Commons packed with first-time MPs - and the voluntary sector is well represented among them.
Third Sector's count suggests there are at least 25 new MPs who worked in the voluntary sector before the election, some of them very recently.
Although Labour lost more than 90 of its seats, it brought in 14 new MPs with a background in the sector. Of these, eight have worked in children and young people's charities, including the NSPCC, the Children's Society and the Scout Association.
During the election campaign, Yvonne Fovargue and Lisa Nandy - both now elected - signed up to the NSPCC's I Stand for Children pledge, promising to make child protection one of their priorities. Fovargue also backed Cancer Research UK's Commit to Beat Cancer pledge, which seeks to protect cancer research institutions.
The nine Tory MPs with a third sector background include former employees of Age Concern England and people who have helped found charities, such as Jeremy Lefroy, who formed Equity for Africa - a charity that helps small businesses in Africa.
During his campaign, Lefroy said he wanted to support social enterprises in Stafford and make more finance available to them.
Two of the new MPs have been involved in think tanks that are also registered charities, including Nicholas Boles, the founder of the Policy Exchange and a member of David Cameron's inner circle.
Other MPs with a third sector past include Jonathan Edwards of Plaid Cymru and Eilidh Whiteford of the Scottish National Party. Edwards has stated that he wants more to be done to help third sector organisations fill gaps in public service provision.
CONSERVATIVE
Stuart Andrew Pudsey (1), Hope House Children's Hospice and British Heart Foundation
Nick Boles Grantham and Stamford (2), Policy Exchange
George Freeman Mid Norfolk (3), Business Wise
Jeremy Lefroy Stafford (4), Equity for Africa
Charlotte Leslie Bristol North West (5), National Autistic Society
Sarah Newton Truro and Falmouth (6), Age Concern England
David Rutley Macclesfield (7), unspecified disadvantaged children's charity
Rory Stewart Penrith and the Border (8), development charity Turquoise Mountain
Elizabeth Truss Norfolk South West (9), Reform
LABOUR
Rushanara Ali Bethnal Green and Bow (10), Young Foundation
Jenny Chapman Darlington (11), Newblood Live
Stella Creasy Walthamstow (12), Scout Association
Simon Danczuk Rochdale (13), Vision 21
Yvonne Fovargue Makerfield (14), St Helens Citizens Advice Bureau
Kate Green Stretford and Urmston (15), Child Poverty Action Group
Susan Hinchcliffe Shipley (16), Business in the Community
Cathy Jamieson MSP Kilmarnock and Loudoun (17), Who Cares? Scotland
Susan Elan Jones Clwyd South (18), Housing Justice
Elizabeth Kendall Leicester West (19), Maternity Alliance
Lisa Nandy Wigan (20), The Children's Society
Bridget Phillipson Houghton and Sunderland South (21), Wearside Women in Need
Anas Sarwar Glasgow Central (22), Y-Vote
Nick Smith Blaenau Gwent (23), Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
Plaid Cymru
Jonathan Edwards Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (24), Citizens Advice Cymru
SNP
Eilidh Whiteford Banff and Buchan (25), Oxfam Scotland and Turning Point Scotland
--------------------
Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine? Please call 08451 55 73 55 for more information or visit http://www.haysubs.com


