Labour MP Rob Marris, who represents Wolverhampton South West, has topped the annual ballot to determine which backbenchers get to propose new laws to Parliament.

The vote decides which 20 MPs get priority for their selected private members' bills and in what order.

Those at the top of the list get more parliamentary debating time.

Private members' bills are one of the few chances ordinary backbench MPs get to create legislation.

The vast majority of new laws originate from the government of the day.

Few private members' bills become law due to the lack of time in the Parliamentary calendar and the annual ballot is always fiercely contested.

'Bedroom tax'

The deputy speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, presided over the random draw, reading out the names of the top 20 MPs in reverse order.

The higher the MP is in the order, the more likely it is that their proposed legislation will be debated in the Commons in the coming months.

Mr Hoyle said 462 MPs applied.

Conservative MPs Chris Heaton Harris was second on the list, followed by Conservative Sir Gerald Howarth and newly-elected Labour MP Julie Cooper.

The first seven bills proposed normally get a full day's debate in the Commons at second reading, when the general principles of bills are considered.

The 20 MPs on the list will see their bills get a first reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 24 June and will then be debated in the Commons on Fridays when the house is is sitting.

The winner of last year's ballot was Lib Dem MP Andrew George, who lost his seat at the general election.

He introduced an Affordable Homes Bill, which would have partially overturned housing benefit changes, dubbed the "bedroom tax" by critics, after consulting his constituents about what law they would like to see introduced.

The legislation reached committee stage before being torpedoed by the coalition government, which refused to provide the money to enact it.

Conservative MP James Wharton, who topped 2013's ballot, saw his bill enshrining in law a commitment to hold a referendum on whether the UK should be in the EU pass through the House of Commons, but fall after it ran out of time in the House of Lords.

Here is the full top 20 in this year's ballot:

1. Rob Marris

2. Chris Heaton-Harris

3. Sir Gerald Howarth

4. Julie Cooper

5. Wendy Morton

6. Teresa Pearce

7. Mike Wood

8. Nick Thomas-Symonds

9. Ms Karen Buck

10. Simon Hoare

11. Dame Angela Watkinson

12. Lilian Greenwood

13. Sir William Cash

14. William Wragg

15. Heidi Allen

16. Vicky Foxcroft

17. Mark Pawsey

18. Mr Geoffrey Cox

19. James Cleverly

20. Caroline Ansell