Two-thirds of Tory MPs had no previous link with their constituencies Less than one third of all Conservative MPs had a connection with their constituency before being elected to the House […]

Less than one third of all Conservative MPs had a connection with their constituency before being elected to the House of Commons, new research has revealed.

Overall around half of parliamentarians had a link to their constituency before they embarked on their Westminster career. That included a big majority of Labour and SNP MPs.

The disparity will add to pressure on Tory headquarters to support the selection of more local candidates.

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Local links Conservatives 104 of 318 MPs (32.7 per cent) Labour 168 of 262 MPs (64.1 per cent) SNP 26 of 35 MPs (74.3 per cent)

The research was carried out by the think-tank Demos which analysed whether MPs had been born, educated or lived within 12.5 miles (20km) of the constituencies they now represented in the five years before their election.

It found that 32.7 per cent of Conservatives had local roots, compared with 64.1per cent of Labour MPs and 74.3 per cent of SNP MPs.

The study also uncovered large regional variations over how many MPs had local links.

Local candidates victorious

More than eight in ten of London’s parliamentarians fitted the Demos criteria and seven in ten of MPs from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

By contrast, just 26 per cent of MPs in the East of England and 28 per cent in the South East had local connections.

The report also suggested that candidates with connections to a constituency performed better than those from other parts of the country.

Local candidates were victorious in all but two of the 28 seats that switched from the Conservatives to Labour in June’s general election – and all six Labour seats captured by the Tories.

Overall 86 per cent of the 70 seats that changed hands were won by local candidates, significantly higher than the UK average as a whole.

MPs from their local area London 86 per cent Scotland 75 per cent Northern Ireland 72 per cent Wales 70 per cent North East 60 per cent North West 54 per cent Midlands 45 per cent South West 41 per cent South East 28 per cent East 26 per cent

Pressure on Tory HQ

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative MP for North East Somerset, whose family comes from the county, told the Times: “It is certainly easier being an MP with local links because you have an embedded knowledge of the area and you want to be there rather than in London.

“And I think it does make a difference in the way in which you are perceived. People think that if you’re local you’re more likely to go in to bat for them on a planning issue or the closure of a local hospital.”

The Demos report said: “It is clear that there is a profound chasm between the parties in terms of their local credentials, and the data indicates that the efforts by those within the Conservative Party to examine its long-term future and renew its modernisation strategy would also benefit from exploring opportunities to emphasise stronger local representation in constituency shortlists.

“This is made particularly clear in the fact that such a large proportion of the seats that turned from the Conservatives to Labour during the election were won by those with strong local connections — indicating that localism may have also become a powerful electoral strategy.”

Sophie Gaston, the deputy director of Demos, said: “The EU referendum really opened up the question of proximity to power.

“The result really showed up the significance of local credentials in the election. It is something that the Conservatives in particular are going to have to grapple with as part of their renewal project.”