Pay us more when we’re voted out, say MPS

MPS who lose their seats at elections should be given bigger payoffs to help them land new jobs, a parliamentary committee has suggested.

In a new report, the cross-party group of MPS pointed to the generous German system, where parliamentarians can receive a resettlement package of up to £162,000 on leaving office.

The administration committee said that the House should also consider presenting departing MPS with a “medallion of service” at a special reception with family and friends.

The recommendations will be handed to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the Commons, and the independent body that decides MPS’ pay.

Currently, MPS who lose their seats after two years or more get a “loss-ofoffice payment”, equal to double the statutory redundancy entitlement.

But the cash is only handed over once parliamentarians have made arrangements to “wind up their affairs” in office, such as by issuing redundancy notices to staff and repaying any outstanding debts.

The committee suggests the payment – which averaged £5,250 for MPS who lost their seats in the 2019 general election – should instead be treated as a “redundancy package” to support those moving to a new role outside the Commons.

They point to a variety of resettlement packages offered by other nations, including Germany, Australia and Canada, each worth significantly more than the typical UK allowance.

In Germany, parliamentarians with a minimum of one year in the job receive a “transitional emolument” to help with the step into new employment,

have his whole life tariff reduced, after the Court of Appeal agreed that his gross misuse of his position represented a “unique and extreme aggravating feature”.

Carrick’s extraordinary catalogue of offences confirms him as one of Britain’s most prolific rapists.

During the sentencing hearing, the judge said his crimes represented a “spectacular downfall for a man charged with upholding the law”.

Mrs Justice Cheema-grubb said he had taken “monstrous advantage” of his position as a police officer to “brazenly rape and sexually assault many women”.

“You believed that you were untouchable, and for many years you were,” she told him. “The principal aggravating feature common to all the offences I am dealing with is your use and abuse of the role of a police officer.

“All the victims were aware of your occupation and affected by it. Some you specifically reassured, tricked or intimidated, abusing the trust that the public vest in police officers.”

Carrick sat in the dock with his eyes closed and head bowed during the hearing and showed no emotion as he was sentenced.

Body-worn camera footage released by Hertfordshire Police showed the moment he was arrested. Shirtless, he could be seen complaining to the arresting officers: “I have only been a police officer for 20 years.”

The court heard he had tried to take his own life while on remand at Belmarsh prison last February, but the judge dismissed it as a “self-pitying reaction to the shame brought on you rather than remorse”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I think that this is a shocking and appalling case which demonstrates a vile abuse of power and the public are rightly sickened by it.”

Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, described Carrick’s crimes as “unspeakably evil” and admitted: “He should not have been a police officer. We weren’t rigorous enough in our approach and as a result we missed opportunities to identify the warning signs over decades.”

He added: “We have let down women across London, but we are more determined than ever to put it right.”