The average age of an MP has consistently remained around 50-years-old since 1979, with a slight upward trend.

Here we look at how the age of MPs has changed over time by party and gender.

Most MPs are 50-59

The lowest average age at a general election was 49.3 years in 1997, while the highest average age was at the 2005 general election (51.2).

The average age is generally lower after an election if there is a change of party in government. This is because there are more likely to be new MPs, and they are likely to be younger than those they have defeated.

The average age after the 2019 General Election was 51, however, we are still awaiting the dates of birth of some of the newly elected members which is likely to result in a slight reduction of that average.

The most populated age bracket between 1979 and 1997 was 40-49, however every election since then has had the most populated age bracket of 50-59.

Ages of MPs elected at General Elections, 1979-2019

Year Average age at General Election Age Group Total
18-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+ Not
known
1979 49.6 6 120 205 203 87 14 635
1983 48.8 10 120 223 201 86 9 649
1987 49.0 4 112 252 197 79 6 650
1992 50.0 1 82 259 211 95 3 651
1997 49.3 10 92 255 225 69 8 659
2001 50.3 4 79 236 247 83 10 659
2005 51.2 3 89 191 249 100 14 646
2010 49.9 14 112 193 218 98 15 650
2015 50.6 15 92 209 214 98 22 650
2017 51.1 13 104 189 201 115 28 650
2019* 51.0 21 109 182 194 105 21 18 650

Source: House of Commons Library, Members’ Names Information Service; House of Commons Library research
Notes: * Verified information about age is not available for 101 MPs, mostly those first elected at the 2019 General Election. Age data for 83 Members has been gathered from a variety of public sources.

Age of MPs by party

The table below shows the age of MPs elected at the 2019 General Election by party. Most MPs (30%) were 50-59. The age brackets with the fewest MPs were 18-29, 70+ and ‘Not Known’.

Age of MPs elected at the 2019 General Election by party

Party Total MPs Age Group
18-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+ Not
known
CON 365 3% 16% 30% 31% 13% 3% 4%
LAB 202 3% 16% 25% 28% 21% 4% 2%
SNP 47 6% 19% 28% 28% 15% 2% 2%
LD 11 0% 18% 36% 36% 9% 0% 0%
Other 25 8% 20% 20% 24% 28% 0% 0%
Total 650 3% 17% 28% 30% 16% 3% 3%

Source: House of Commons Library, Members’ Names Information Service; House of Commons Library research
Notes: * Verified information about age is not available for 101 MPs, mostly those first elected at the 2019 General Election. Age data for 83 Members has been gathered from a variety of public sources.

Age by gender

It is also possible to analyse MPs age range by the gender at each general election. The chart below shows the age comparison between first-time elected women and men MPs at each election up to 2017.

A chart to show average age of newly elected MPs between 1979 and 2017 by gender

The average age for newly elected women since 1979 was 44.4, for men it was 41.2. Except in 1997, the average age of first-time elected women MPs has remained higher than for first-time elected men.

The oldest and youngest MPs

At the time of writing, Nadia Whittome is the youngest MP in the House of Commons and currently the “Baby of the House”. She is 24-years-old, but was 23 when first elected at the 2019 General Election. Before she was elected, Mhairi Black was the youngest sitting MP. More information can be found in our briefing on the Youngest Members of Parliament since 1979.

At 80 years old, Sir William Cash is currently the oldest sitting member in the House of Commons. This is not the same as the longest continuously serving member, also known as “Father of the House”, which is a role currently held by Sir Peter Bottomley (aged 76). More information can be found in our briefing on the “Father of the House”. Sir Peter Bottomley has served as an MP since 1975 representing Woolwich West, Eltham and then Worthing West.

The longest continuous serving woman MP, sometimes referred to as the “Mother of the House”, is Harriet Harman who has been an MP for the constituency of Peckham and then later Camberwell and Peckham since 1982.

This is part of a series on House of Commons trends to mark Parliament Week 2020. You can find more analysis and data in our full briefing.

Read the rest of the series.


About the author: Chris Watson is a researcher at the House of Commons Library, specialising in parliamentary data.

Image: ©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor under CC BY 2.0, cropped

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