Maiden speeches in the House of Commons since 1918
Maiden speeches made by newly elected MPs since 1918, with links to Hansard where available.
Urgent questions are a category of oral questions that allow all MPs not in the government to put a question to a minister without the usual notice required for oral question time and without the need to be drawn in a ballot.
Number of urgent questions in the House of Commons since 1997 (41 KB , Excel Spreadsheet)
The urgent questions procedure allows MPs to apply to the Speaker to request that a minister come to the House to make a statement (and take questions) on an important issue at short notice. Notice of an application for an urgent question must be given to the Speaker’s Office in advance of that day’s sitting. The Speaker gives permission if in his opinion the question is of an urgent character and relates to matters of public importance.
The Speaker’s Office contacts the Member to let them know whether or not their application has been successful but does not provide feedback on unsuccessful requests. The text of the urgent question, ministerial response and supplementary questions can be found by following the links in the document and spreadsheet.
See the Commons Library briefing Parliamentary Questions for information on the history and operation of parliamentary questions in the House of Commons.
Urgent questions in the House of Lords are known as private notice questions. Peers can apply to the Lord Speaker to ask a private notice question. If granted, the relevant government department is informed immediately, and the question is asked at the end of Question Time.
Please send any comments or corrections to papers@parliament.uk.
This series of publications contains data on various subjects relating to Parliament and Government. Topics include legislation, MPs, select committees, debates, divisions and Parliamentary procedure.
Number of urgent questions in the House of Commons since 1997 (41 KB , Excel Spreadsheet)
Maiden speeches made by newly elected MPs since 1918, with links to Hansard where available.
The House of Commons agreed to establish a Modernisation Committee on 25 July 2024 to “consider reforms to House of Commons procedures, standards, and working practices; and to make recommendations thereon”.
The number of divisions in the House of Commons Chamber since 1945 listed by session. Counts of deferred divisions since the 2000-01 session are also included.