Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In October, Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister after just 44 days. As a result, another Conservative leadership contest was held with Rishi Sunak beating Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson to enter 10 Downing Street.

The government also U-turned on most of its planned tax cuts amid mounting pressure from MPs and financial markets.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found out on Mr Jones:

• Mr Jones backed Rishi Sunak to be leader of the Conservative party. He said the former Chancellor “has the experience, ability and energy to tackle the problems facing our country”.


• On October 19, Mr Jones voted with the government on an opposition motion to introduce a bill to ban fracking in the UK. The vote proved controversial amid allegations of Conservative whips being aggressive with MPs in the voting lobby.


• Mr Jones announced he was launching a “non-political” fact checking service. He said his videos on Instagram will be ‘an occasional series where we just present facts — no politics’. His first video was on investment zones.


• In the second of his Instagram videos on October 21, Mr Jones denied he had voted in favour of fracking following the controversial vote in the House of Commons.


• On October 17, Mr Jones spoke in the House of Commons on investment zones where he said it was “far from the case” that the measure would harm the environment.


• On October 13, Mr Jones called for a debate on designated bathing areas in rivers. It came amid a campaign by Nidd Catchment Anglers Group to create designated areas on the River Nidd.


• On October 24, Mr Jones asked transport minister Kevin Foster MP to consider the role of the private sector in rail reform and to make York the headquarters of Great British Railways.


• On October 27, Mr Jones supported a Dogs Trust campaign to end puppy smuggling.

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In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• Mr Smith also threw his support behind Richmond MP, Rishi Sunak, to become the next Prime Minister.


• On October 11, Mr Smith asked ministers to confirm that they would not “balance the forthcoming tax cuts on the backs of the poorest”.


• Mr Smith was a critic of the government’s plan to cut taxes earlier this month. On October 2, he tweeted that MPs “cannot clap for carers one month and cut tax for millionaires months later”.


• He later welcomed the government’s decision to backtrack on most of its tax cut pledges.


• He voted along with the government on the controversial fracking vote on October 19.


• On October 25, an article on Bloomberg said 'dark arts specialist' Mr Smith could be in line for a role in Mr Sunak’s government. As yet, nothing has transpired.

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

• Mr Adams, who is a close ally of Boris Johnson, backed the former Prime Minister in the Conservative leadership contest.


• Mr Adams has kept a low profile since Mr Johnson stepped down as Prime Minister. He made no spoken contributions in the House of Commons in October and only voted on two occasions.


• On October 18, Mr Adams tweeted his support for the Foreign Secretary’s decision to summon the Chinese Chargé d'Affaires to demand an explanation for scenes outside the Chinese Consulate-General in Manchester.