A few of the new MPs have indicated they have the X-factor

Parliamentary Business: It is remarkable the impact some of these MPs have had, barely seven months into their jobs

Deputy Mayor of London Kit Malthouse (Getty)

The demographics of the House of Commons drastically changed at the May general election.

The SNP tsunami brought 50 new MPs north of the border alone and this was supplemented by 74 fresh-faced Conservatives. Labour’s 53 new MPs arguably signalled a leftward shift in the Parliamentary party that let Jeremy Corbyn in as leader, even if few of them were among his genuine supporters.

More than a third of the House of Commons changed faces, resulting in 142 women MPs, the highest total ever.

The number of ethnic minority MPs rose by about 75 per cent, although there are still only 26.

Although lobbyists try to ingratiate themselves with new MPs, the reality is that they are driven by expediency and work more directly on ministers, shadow spokespeople and long-serving backbenchers who still have plenty of clout within their parties and in Parliament more broadly.

Who, then, should business look out for? With the Christmas recess starting at 2pm today, which of these new MPs has shown an interest in business-related policies that could prove significant in the coming years? This is not a “best of” list of the new intake (although some would qualify), rather a selection of those who I think could have a real impact over the next four-and-a-half years.

The obvious star with whom to start would be the one who shines brightest of all: Boris Johnson. Sadly, though, I’m going to rule out our free-speaking wannabe prime minister on the grounds that he is a) a returning MP; b) a cabinet certainty anyway over the next year or two; and c) already lobbied ridiculously in his role as London mayor.

Instead I’m going to first focus on a couple of his lieutenants in City Hall who also became MPs this year: the former London fire chief James Cleverly and the former deputy mayor for business and enterprise, Kit Malthouse.

Mr Cleverly got himself in a bit of trouble this year by admitting on radio that he had “a little dabble with marijuana at university” and had watched online pornography.

However, the good voters of Braintree are likely to forgive Mr Cleverly these indiscretions, given that they are more commonplace than the actions of his predecessor, Brooks Newmark, who sent explicit photos of himself to an undercover reporter.

What’s more significant is that Mr Cleverly has already been elected to the Conservatives’ powerful 1922 Committee, which represents the views of backbenchers. The 46-year-old is of Sierra Leonean heritage and is keen to establish better trade links with West Africa, an argument that Brexit campaigners could well develop ahead of the EU referendum.

Mr Malthouse qualified as an accountant with the then Deloitte & Touche before becoming a full-fledged businessman – he is still chairman at County Finance Group, which helps businesses buy assets.

On the Labour side we cannot ignore Richard Burgon, the Corbynite shadow City minister. Last week I pointed out that he had been in plenty of meetings with the big banks, despite continuing accusations that he hasn’t met anyone of note in the City.

His politics are fairly in-line with Mr Corbyn and John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor, which will frighten the City. Mr Burgon wants to dismantle the UK’s traditional banking system and is delving into the successes of the state-owned Bank of North Dakota and corporatist-style German banks.

Paula Sherriff has been a bit of an unsung heroine, but with a canny team behind her, the former NHS worker has got stuck into a fair few business issues that have made headlines, not least in this newspaper.

The Dewsbury MP talked the WH Smith chief executive Stephen Clarke into making sure the chain’s prices were the same in hospitals as on the high street. For example, the price of get-well-soon cards was as much as 90 per cent higher in one hospital shop.

Ms Sherriff also forced the Government to confront the EU over dropping VAT on feminine hygiene products. More recently, she exposed a potential conflict of interest when Peter Wyman was appointed chairman of the Care Quality Commission, pointing out that his former employer of 40 years, PwC, was internal auditor at the watchdog.

The SNP initially handed the business brief to Michelle Thomson, but she resigned the whip pending an investigation over allegations related to property deals. Ms Thomson has been replaced at business by Hannah Bardell. The Livingston MP previously worked for Alex Salmond, so is almost part of the establishment in what is still quite a young party.

Ms Bardell has been pushing for at least 14 Scottish products to be protected as regional specialities under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), up from three – Scotch beef, lamb and farmed salmon – under the current negotiations. This list is, obviously, not exhaustive.

But it is remarkable the impact some of these MPs have had, barely seven months into their jobs. They will not remain ignored for long.

Twitter: @markleftly