MPs should be awarded medals when they stand down or are voted out of office, committee suggests

MPs who stand down or lose an election could be awarded medals in a bid to make the profession more attractive.

In a new report, a committee made up of cross-party MPs suggests special accolades should be given to outgoing parliamentarians at a reception with family and friends present.

Other ideas that were suggested by the Commons Administration Committee included certificates for skills gained during their time in parliament and 18 months of job advice and support following their departure to boost future career prospects.

The report by the group of MPs adds that rules around redundancy payments should be relaxed and that the independent body that decides on pay should look at how the current package compares with more favourable international schemes.

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The committee’s recommendations will be handed to Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) for consideration.

According to the 37-page report titled Smoothing The Cliff Edge: Supporting MPs At Their Point of Departure From Elected Office, for MPs defeated at the 2019 general election, the median loss-of-office payment was £5,250 – equivalent to less than one month of their £84,144 salary.

The committee found that Westminster’s pay-outs compared poorly with comparable international democracies, with an ousted MP in German who has served for 18 years qualifying for £162,360 compensation.

Members of the Bundestag with a minimum of one year’s membership receive a “transitional emolument” to help with their next step into employment, with the pay-out equivalent to one month’s salary – £9,020 – for each year of service, up to a maximum of eighteen months.

While outgoing Australian MPs can expect to receive either £31,455 or £62,909, depending on length of service, while those exiting the Canadian House of Commons receive severance of close to £70,000.

The committee says that in the UK, the loss-of-office payment is also only handed over once MPs have made arrangements to wind up their affairs in office, such as issuing redundancy notices to staff.

Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker, who chairs the Commons Administration Committee, said: “If the public wants the best individuals to represent them in the House of Commons, it is vital that MPs receive the support they need to do – and leave – their jobs well.”

Sir Charles, who is standing down as an MP himself at the next election, after 15 years representing Broxbourne, in Hertfordshire, said political parties also had a duty to ensure parliament “can attract and retain talented people of all different backgrounds from across the UK”.

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