The U.K. Is Run By MPs From The South East Of England

    More than half of the politicians who attend cabinet meetings represent constituencies within commuting distance of London.

    Jim Waterson
    by Jim Waterson

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, UK

    There are 31 MPs who have the right to attend cabinet, the weekly meeting for top government ministers. Two thirds of them are from the South East of England.

    Jim Waterson / BuzzFeed / Shutterstock / Matt Tucker

    These are the MPs who take the key decisions on how the country is governed. And they overwhelmingly represent seats in one corner of the United Kingdom, dominated by a city that has a very different economic and social make-up to the rest of Britain.

    20 of the MPs who can attend cabinet represent constituencies that are in the South East of England, or are less than an hour's commute to central London.

    1. Culture secretary: Maria Miller (Basingstoke)

    2. Education secretary: Michael Gove (Surrey Heath)

    3. Culture secretary: Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey)

    4. Cabinet office minister: Francis Maude (Horsham)

    5. Minister for cities: Greg Clark (Royal Tunbridge Wells)

    6. Energy secretary: Ed Davey (Sutton)

    7. Justice secretary: Chris Grayling (Epsom)

    8. International development secretary: Justine Greening (Putney)

    9. Business secretary: Vince Cable (Teddington)

    10. Defence secretary: Philip Hammond (Runnymede)

    11. Home secretary: Theresa May (Maidenhead)

    12. Attorney general: Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield)

    13. Northern Ireland secretary: Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet)

    14. Work and pensions secretary: Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford)

    15. Communities secretary: Eric Pickles (Brentwood)

    16. Minister without portfolio: Grant Shapps (Welwyn Hatfield)

    17. Leader of the Commons: Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire)

    18. Universities minister: David Willetts (Havant)

    19. Chief whip: Sir George Young (NW Hampshire)

    20. Prime Minister: David Cameron (Witney)

    This leaves the rest of the country represented by just 11 MPs who have the right to attend cabinet.

    Two MPs in the South West:
    21. Schools minister: David Laws (Yeovil)

    22. Cabinet office minister: Oliver Letwin (West Dorset)

    Three MPs in the Midlands:
    23. Minister without portfolio: Ken Clarke (Rushcliffe)

    24. Transport secretary: Patrick McLoughlin (Derbyshire Dales)

    27. Environment secretary: Owen Patterson (North Shropshire)

    Three MPs in the North:
    25. Deputy Prime Minister: Nick Clegg (Sheffield Hallam)

    26. Chancellor: George Osborne (Tatton)

    29. Foreign secretary: William Hague (Richmond)

    One MP in Wales:
    28. Welsh secretary: David Jones (Clwyd West)

    Two MPs in Scotland:

    30. Treasury secretary: Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)

    31. Scottish secretary: Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland)