The final tally of MP retirements
Nominations for election candidates close today, and it looks like the final tally of retirements will be 148 (if former Labour MPs Bob Wareing and Frank Cook confirm they are not standing as independents).
That's made up of 99 Labour MPs, 35 Conservative, 7 Lib Dems, and 7 others. In my opinion the figure should be a round 150 since the DUP MP Iris Robinson stepped down early, and the North West Leicestershire Labour MP David Taylor died during the Christmas holiday, without either of them being replaced in a by-election.
What's especially remarkable is that not a single MP has announced their retirement since the Labour MP for Nottingham East John Heppell did so on 26 March, almost a month ago. Normally there are several retirements announced after the election is called. This year the parties seem to have flushed out their many retiring members relatively early.
So there is no spare seat for the Downing Street aide Jonathan Ashworth, or for the defence minister and Tory defector Quentin Davies, or for several other ministerial adviser types who have also been on the prowl.
I'm Michael Crick, and I'm Newsnight's political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there's usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out. Follow me on
Comment number 1.
At 20th Apr 2010, stevie wrote:why are we worried about seats for these people, the country is in a mess and we are being fed the line about needing 'decisive' government, who needs that? We need a hung parliament and before anyone shoots me down remember what 'big' government did for us. Thatcher decimated industry, the poll tax, doubled VAT, that was a big majority. Blair gave us an illegal war, kowtowing to Bush and made himself a multi millionair..that was big government. Alex Salmon has called it right and that will feed into the electorate as most people want to give their MP's a slap and a hung is a good way to slap them....
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Comment number 2.
At 20th Apr 2010, JunkkMale wrote:'Retirements'? Bless.
Our MP announced his years ago, and has been as much use as one might expect since.
At least he is 'retiring' to a high paid job with the very industry for whom he was the shadow spokesperson.
Now there is a shocker.
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Comment number 3.
At 20th Apr 2010, Peter Kenyon wrote:Dear Michael
I hope that you haven't called this story too soon. The deadline for nominations is 4pm. I hope that my Selections in the spotlight series helped restrain the Labour leadership fixers, even if it failed to halt the powerplay, as shown by the Nottingham East 'selection' and other earlier examples.
Peter Kenyon
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