Suspended MPs are set to be handed at least £29,000 of taxpayers cash each for hanging on to their seats until the General Election.
Seven MPs - most recently ex-Tory Mark Menzies - have been booted from their parties over allegations of misconduct and are set to step down, but vowed to hang on until this year’s General Election.
Between them they’re in line for payouts worth a combined £203,000 when Rishi Sunak calls the election.
Clinging on to their seats until parliament is dissolved makes them eligible for a “winding up” payment of four months of their £84,000 salary.
If they stand in the election and lose, they're also entitled to a “loss of office” payment - worth double the level of statutory redundancy.
For an MP who has been in office for more than 20 years, the combined total would be £66,580.
MPs who quit and trigger by-elections are not eligible for such payments.
And the cost could be even higher. A further eleven suspended MPs have yet to say whether they'll step down or not. If they stay until the election, the total would be £522,000 - and if they all stood and lost, the number could be as high as £750,000.
Among the MPs in line for bumper payouts despite being booted out of their party group is former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who lost the whip in 2022 after choosing to appear on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here while Parliament was sitting.
He’s remained an “independent” MP, but still sits with former Tory colleagues on the Commons back benches, and will pocket £29,000 if he hangs on until the election.
Mr Menzies was allowed to resign the Tory whip while he was investigated over allegations he’d misused party funds.
It followed claims he’d called an aide in the middle of the night, begging her to transfer him cash because he had been locked in a flat by some “bad men”.
He denied breaking the rules, and the party said it could not conclude there had been misuse of funds. Mr Menzies announced he would be stepping down as an MP - but not until the election.
As a result, he’s also in line for £29,000.
Former Labour MP Nick Brown quit the Labour party during a long-running disciplinary process following an undisclosed complaint against him.
Mr Brown strongly denies the allegations against him.
Tory MP William Wragg had already announced his intention to step down at the election when he gave up the Tory whip after being caught up in the Westminster honeytrap scandal earlier this month (APR).
Former Tory Julian Knight, who is suspended from the Tories over undisclosed “complaints” against him, is also due to get £29,000 when he steps down.
As is Ex-Tory Bob Stewart who remains suspended, after being convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence.
The conviction was overturned on appeal in February, but the Conservative Party said he remained suspended.
Note: This story has been updated. It originally said MPs who stepped down were eligible for loss of office payments. In fact, they are only available to MPs who stand at an election and lose. We are happy to correct the error.