Backbench rebellions against the government have been more frequent in this parliament than any since the second world war, according to new research, with 59 rebellions out of the first 110 votes. This is double the rate during the last Labour government and almost nine times as frequent as the post-war average, suggesting for some MPs rebellion against the coalition is becoming a habit.

The research, conducted by Professor Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart of the centre for British politics at Nottingham University, is published today. It suggests "rebellion has become the norm and cohesion the exception". They claim the coalition is "saddled with two wobbly wings", and the opportunities for rebellion are likely to grow. So far, 89 coalition MPs have broken ranks against the government – 67 of them Conservatives.

In percentage terms at least one Tory MP has broken ranks in 35% of whipped votes; at least one Lib Dem MP has done so in 28%. These two figures add up to more than 54%, because in some votes both parties had dissenters.

The breadth of rebellion inside the Liberal Democrats is probably higher than publicly perceived. The Lib Dem parliamentary party currently comprises 57 MPs. Of these 22 (or 39%) are members of the payroll vote, either as ministers or parliamentary private secretaries, expected to remain loyal to the government not only in voice but also in vote. The Liberal Democrat backbench therefore consists of 35 MPs. The figure of 22 of those that have rebelled against the government means that a whopping 63% of the backbench party has defied the whip.

Cowley argues the figures are even more striking since the first session of a parliament tends to be the most loyal, partly since there are fewer disillusioned former ministers, the next election is furthest away and the glue of a freshly won manifesto mandate reduces independence.

The level of rebellions may reflect that in both parties MPs feel the compromises of coalition reduce the need to obey the advice of whips.

The Conservative rebellion rate of 35% is higher than all but four of the post-war sessions. The Lib Dem rate of 28% is higher than in any previous session, and by the end of this parliament it is likely the backbenchers will have rebelled more times than they did in the whole of the last parliament.

The whole of the last parliament – covering five years — saw just 39 divisions in which at least one Liberal Democrat voted against their party line; in just over five months the total for the 2010 parliament has already reached 31.

Separate research conducted by the ConservativeHome site suggests the most rebellious Tories have been Philip Hollobone, Peter Bone, Christopher Chope, Philip Davies and David Nuttall, who is the most rebellious of the new intake.

The focus of dissent has been the constitutional reform measures, with a faction of Tory backbenchers unreconciled to coalition.

The parliamentary voting system and constituencies bill has been responsible for 26 of the 59 rebellions. That bill alone saw no fewer than 53 coalition MPs break ranks against the government (43 of them Tories, 10 of them Lib Dems).

So far the coalition's whips have been saved from a serious threat to its majority because Lib Dems have been rebelling on social issues and the Tories on constitutional affairs, finding common cause in only one in five rebellions. The Conservative rate of 35% marks almost a trebling of the rate of rebellion seen between 2005 and 2010. Lib Dem MPs have gone from rebelling in just 3% of divisions to 28%.

Despite the frequency of rebellion, the lowest government majority has been 58, reflecting that so far rebellions have been small. The largest coalition rebellion to date – on increasing the EU budget – involved 37 Tories, not enough to threaten the government's majority, not least because the Labour frontbench abstained. The largest Liberal Democrat rebellion consisted of 10 MPS led by Charles Kennedy on the size of constituencies.

The authors argue that the coalition whips will be relieved they cannot see many issues in the short term that will unite progressive Lib Dems, Tory rightwingers and the Labour party against the government. With the adoption of rebellion as a way of life, perhaps MPs now see it as their duty to follow their conscience and not their party.