He was one of the 218 MPs whose seats changed hands at the general election earlier this year, a seismic shift which paved the way for Labour to take power for the first time in 14 years.
175 of the MPs defeated at the general election were Conservatives and in the five months that have followed, many have been grappling with what life holds with them now they’re no longer in the Commons.
Some were more stoic about their departure from political life. A second former Conservative said he was “disappointed but not astonished to lose”, having expected that his party was on track for a major defeat.
Alexander Stafford, the former MP for Rother Valley, told The i Paper he felt “sadness and great frustration” on election night. Despite losing only 10 per cent of the vote share – far below the average Tory swing – he lost his seat to Labour by 998 votes.
But there was a small silver lining to his defeat as his older brother, Greg Stafford, kept politics in the family by successfully becoming the new Tory MP for Farnham and Bordon.
Like many defeated MPs, he spent the summer months on holiday with his family before getting involved in the Conservative leadership race – in his case, supporting the eventual winner, Kemi Badenoch.
The next step for Stafford, like the rest of his defeated cohort, is to work out what the next step is in their careers.
Known for his outspoken views while in parliament, Gullis said he felt that “in some schools, with some teachers, my views won’t be something that is popular”.
Stafford said that there was “nothing I said or did as MP that I, frankly, feel embarrassed by or ashamed of” but acknowledged that there were some people who, because of “their personal bias, don’t want an ex-Tory MP to work with them”.
Another former MP polishing off their CV is Matt Warman, who was one of the few Tories to lose their seats to Reform at the election. His seat of Boston and Skegness was taken by the party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice.
Matt Warman campaigning for British farming, as an MP in 2016 (Photo: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty)
“Lots of people say you should take a holiday and regroup to work out what to do after. I was horrified,” he said. “How absurd to take a holiday from unemployment – it felt like rubbing in the fact that it wasn’t recess if you’re not going back.”
Others have had more success, such as ex-Peterborough MP Paul Bristow, who has been selected as the Conservative candidate to become Mayor of Cambridgeshire.
Many have also returned to their pre-Commons careers. Two former justice secretaries – Robert Buckland and Alex Chalk – have returned to practising law after being defeated at the election.
“If you’ve been a minister, you can create yourself into something post-parliament much more easily, although there are still definitely some ministers who have struggled for a whole host of reasons.”
Jake Berry being interviewed on GB News in October (Photo: GBNews.com)
“I would absolutely like to keep the option open, at least, for some kind of political return. My aim now is to find roles that are compatible with that,” Warman reflected.
“I’ve never seen a government of any colour make a hash of things so quickly… in Rother Valley, lots of people who did vote for Labour are now having massive regrets.”
I enjoyed Meet the Rees-Moggs - and I’m ashamed
Read MoreOne ex-MP said the first by-election in a Tory-leaning seat would likely be “besieged” by applications from those who lost at the last election, and that the popularity of the candidate would be a big factor in who was chosen.
But the ex-MP who broke down on election night has no hopes of a return, and hopes to start a new career in his home town.
“Politics is a brutal business, and I’ve had enough of it,” he reflected. “I think many of my former colleagues would do well to try real life for a change rather then plot their comeback.”
MPs’ severance payments could top £10m
Severance and other payouts for former MPs could hit £10.2m this year following Labour’s landslide election victory in July, according to analysis by The i Paper – more than the last three general elections combined.
Under current rules, all ex-MPs who either stood down or were defeated at the election were entitled to a severance payment – known as a winding-up payment – of around £21,000, equivalent to four months of their MP salary after tax.
This is to cover the costs of closing their office and managing the departure of their staff, including salaries, over the four-month winding up period.
Once this is paid to the 344 MPs who left the Commons earlier this year, the total estimated bill comes to just under £7.3m.
In addition to the winding up payment, former MPs defeated at the election are entitled to a loss of office payment equivalent to double the statutory redundancy rate.
An analysis by The i Paper found that 216 of the 218 MPs who lost their seats in July were eligible for a loss of office payment ranging from £4,200 to the maximum payout of £42,000, with the total for these payments hitting just over £4m.
The total estimated figure for the 2024 election is larger than the loss of office payouts from the last three general elections combined, with £827,600 paid to 71 defeated MPs in 2019 and £569,400 paid to 64 defeated MPs in 2017.
A total of £2.7m was also paid to 89 departing MPs in 2015, but this was the last year of the previous payout scheme, which saw many MPs given the equivalent of half their annual salary.
Two-month winding-up payments were first introduced in 2018 at all subsequent elections and by-elections, and in 2023, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) doubled the entitlement to four months of a departing MP’s salary.
According to IPSA accounts, a total of £1.3m was paid in severance to the 147 MPs who left the Commons in 2019.
Although the total loss of office payments awarded to defeated MPs has not been confirmed, analysis by The i Paper suggests it has likely reached at least ...
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