A record number of members of Parliament (MPs) stood down at the 2010 general election, meaning they were MPs in the 54th Parliament, but chose not to contest the 2010 general election, in some cases after being deselected by their parties.
This election had an unusually high number of MPs choosing not to seek re-election, with more standing down than did so at the 1945 election (which on account of the extraordinary wartime circumstances came ten years after the preceding election).[1] This has been attributed to the expenses scandal and the fact that redundancy-style payments for departing MPs may be scrapped after the election.[2]
In all, 149 MPs (100 Labour, 35 Conservatives, seven Liberal Democrats, two independents, one Independent Conservative and one member each from Plaid Cymru, the Scottish National Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, and Social Democratic and Labour Party) announced that they would not be contesting the next election. In four of these cases a sitting MP was not selected by their Constituency Labour Party to stand.
In addition, three seats were vacant at the dissolution of Parliament on 12 April 2010, where the sitting MP had died or resigned and no by-election had been held.