One quarter of the House of Commons will stand down at next election as more than 170 MPs plan to retire in the wake of the Parliamentary expenses scandal, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.
The taxpayer faces a bill of more than £10.8 million in controversial redundancy payments for the departing MPs.
The resignations will mark the biggest exodus from the House of Commons in living memory and lead to a far younger and more diverse group of MPs. The number will far surpass the 128 MPs who retired in 1945 at the end of the 10-year war Parliament.
The prediction has been drawn up by Parliamentary officials following informal discussions with the main political parties. The House of Commons is currently working out how to deal with such a large influx of novice MPs.
An analysis of all MPs’ public statements about their plans ahead of the election, which must be held by June, shows that just 265 of the 646 in the House have firmly declared their intention to seek re-election.
More than 120 MPs have already announced that they will stand down but a further 249 have yet to disclose their plans. Two MPs have already left and triggered by-elections.
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