The Commons health select committee is to be entirely made up of MPs who have not served on it before - although several of them have a background in health or health related fields.

The new members include a GP, Sarah Wollaston (Con), and Rosie Cooper (Lab), who was parliamentary private secretary to Ben Bradshaw when he was health minister.

Ex-nurse and medical representative Nadine Dorries is most noted for leading a failed attempt to lobby for a reduction in the limit for abortion from 24 to 20 weeks.

David Tredinnick is a well known supporter of complementary and alternative medicine, has argued in favour of NHS funding for homeopathy, has an interest in astrology (claiming £750 on parliamentary expenses for astrology software) and was widely reported to have asserted that blood does not clot during a full moon.

But many are new to the Commons and some do not list health as an interest in their official parliamentary biographies.

Former independent MP and health committee member Richard Taylor said this was a concern because at the end of the last session the committee published five “hard hitting” reports on patient safety, commissioning, social care, vetting of foreign doctors and alcohol and it would be “an absolute disaster” if these were not carried forward.

The full list of members is also heavily biased towards the South of England, and the South West in particular.

Health select committee members

  • Stephen Dorrell (Con, Charnwood) - chair
  • Rosie Cooper (Lab, West Lancashire)
  • Nadine Dorries (Con, Mid Bedfordshire)
  • Andrew George (Lib Dem, St Ives)
  • Fiona Mactaggart (Lab, Slough)
  • Grahame M Morris (Lab, Easington)
  • Virendra Sharma (Lab, Ealing Southall)
  • Chris Skidmore (Con, Kingswood)
  • David Tredinnick (Con, Bosworth)
  • Valerie Vaz (Lab, Walsall South)
  • Dr Sarah Wollaston (Con, Totnes)

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