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Ex-MPs rush to keep access to Parliament after election with nearly 400 now holding coveted passes – up more than a fifth since July_Nhy

Ex-MPs have been rushing to keep access to the Houses of Parliament after the election.

The number of former politicians holding coveted passes for the estate has spiked by more than a fifth since July.

Some 328 had been allocated in the summer – but the latest figures from the Commons show that by October 398 ex-MPs possessed them.

The increase comes after an extraordinary Tory bloodbath when the nation went to the polls. In total 350 MPs were either defeated or stood down from Parliament.

Former Cabinet ministers Therese Coffey, Alex Chalk and Andrea Leadsom are among the names on the list. Ex-ministers Steve Baker and Damian Collins also feature.

In recent years the rules have been tightened in a bid to bring down numbers with the so-called ‘Category X’ passes.

Ex-MPs are meant to have served at least two Parliamentary terms or six years – whichever is longer – to apply for the privilege.

The number of former politicians holding coveted passes for the Parliamentary estate has spiked by more than a fifth since July

The number of former politicians holding coveted passes for the Parliamentary estate has spiked by more than a fifth since July

Alex Chalk
Therese Coffey

Former Cabinet ministers Therese Coffey (right) and Alex Chalk (left) are among the names on the list

However, Aidan Burley appears on the Commons list despite only serving a single term between 2010 and 2015.

The former Tory MP resigned as a ministerial aide after being embroiled in a scandal about attending a Nazi-themed stag do, and recently joined Reform UK.

Emma Dent Coad, who was a Labour MP between 2017 and 2019, also has a pass, according to the list.

The Commons authorities confirmed that ex-MPs who were granted passes under previous looser rules, which only required serving a single term, are not subject to the new restrictions.

Passholders are able to enter the estate unescorted, have meetings and use the subsidised bars and restaurants within certain hours.

The scheme is intended to smooth the process of returning to civilian life – but questions have been raised about the potential for lobbying of former colleagues and whether individuals should retain access to the estate.

There is no suggestion that any of the current individuals have breached rules – which explicitly ban lobbying.

A House of Commons spokesman said: ‘As with all pass applications, eligibility is rigorously scrutinised and processes are in place to ensure applications can only be made by those with an approved requirement.

‘There are limits on the facilities former Members may use within Parliament, and they are forbidden from using their pass in connection with lobbying activity.’

Aidan Burley, who recently joined Reform UK, appears on the Commons list despite only serving a single term as a Tory MP between 2010 and 2015

Aidan Burley, who recently joined Reform UK, appears on the Commons list despite only serving a single term as a Tory MP between 2010 and 2015

The ex-MPs who still have passes for Parliament

The Commons has disclosed a list of former MPs who held passes as of October. They are:

Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh

Rupert Allason

Graham Allen

Heidi Allen

David Anderson

Janet Anderson

Robert Marshall Andrews

Jacques Arnold

Charlotte Atkins

John Austin

Adrian Bailey

Norman Baker

Steve Baker

Jacqueline Ballard

Gordon Raymond Banks

John Baron

John Barrett

Kevin Barron

Spencer Batiste

John Battle

Hugh Bayley

Nicholas Jerome Bennett

Keith Best

Andrew Bingham

Gordon Birtwistle

Ian Blackford

Roberta Blackman Woods

Thomas Blenkinsop

Paul Blomfield

John Bowis

Thomas Brake

Gyles Brandreth

Julian William Hendy Brazier

Jack Brereton

Deidre Brock

Michael Brown

Jeremy Richard Browne

Ian Bruce

Richard Burden

Aidan Burley

Simon Burns

David Burnside

Paul Burstow

Alistair Burt

John Cable

Richard Caborn

Lisa Cameron

Anne Campbell

Ivor Caplin

Kenneth Carlisle

Neil Carmichael

Ian Cawsey

Alex Chalk

Colin Robert Challen

Ben James Keith Chapman

Douglas Chapman

Atta Chishti

Johanna Churchill

Michael Clapham

Colin Clark

Gregory Clark

Helen Clark

Charles Clarke

Thomas Clarke

David Clelland

Ann Clwyd

Ann Coffey

Therese Coffey

Damian Collins

Anthony John Colman

Anthony Coombs

Simon Coombs

Julie Cooper

Stephen Crabb

David Crausby

Jonathan Cruddas

Constance Cryer

James Dolan Cunningham

Margaret Curran

David Maurice Curry

Claire Curtis Thomas

Simon Danczuk

Wayne David

Ian Graham Davidson

Edward Davies

Thomas Hilton Dawson

Martyn Day

Nick De Bois

Gloria De Piero

Janet Dean

John Denham

Emma Dent Coad

Niranjan Deva

Parmjit Dhanda

Andrew Hartley Dismore

Thomas Docherty

Brian Donohoe

Densmore Dover

James Patrick Dowd

David Drew

Felicia Drummond

James Duddridge

Alan Duncan

John Mark Durkan

Huw Edwards

Timothy Eggar

Michael Ellis

Jane Ellison

Louise Ellman

Tobias Ellwood

Jonathan Evans

Nigel Evans

David Anthony Evennett

Michael Fabricant

Michael Fallon

Christopher Paul Farrelly

Anthony Favell

Jim Fitzpatrick

Robert Flello

Adrian Flook

Daphne Follett

Michael Foster

Michael Foster

Christopher Fraser

Lucy Frazer

Michael Freer

Douglas French

Lawrence Gaffney

Michael Gapes

Ruth George

Neil Gerrard

Patricia Gibson

Sandra Gidley

Linda Gilroy

Patricia Glass

Helen Goodman

Charles Goodson Wickes

Patrick Grady

James Gray

Damian Howard Green

Katherine Green

John Greenway

Conal Gregory

Dominic Grieve

Jane Griffiths

Nigel Griffiths

Winston Griffiths

John Grogan

Samuel Gyimah

Kirstene Hair

Michael Thomas Hall

David Hamilton

Mark Harper

Evan Harris

Tom Harris

Nicholas Harvey

Nicholas John Hawkins

Jeremy Hayes

Sylvia Heal

David William Heath

Peter Heaton Jones

Doug Henderson

Ivan Henderson

Charles Hendry

Stephen Hepburn

Maureen Hicks

Keith Hill

David Hinchliffe

Michael Hirst

Kelvin Hopkins

Martin Horwood

James Gerald Douglas Howarth

Robert Hughes

Simon Hughes

Tristram Hunt

Ifor Huw Irranca Davies

Helen Jackson

Margot James

David Jamieson

Ranil Jayawardena

Melanie Jane Johnson

Andrew Jones

Graham Jones

Gwilym Haydn Jones

Helen Jones

Ieuan Wyn Jones

Lynne Jones

Marcus Jones

Susan Jones

Daniel Kawczynski

Sally Keeble

Ann Keen

Christopher Kelly

Ruth Kelly

Seema Kennedy

Stephen Kerr

Sadiq Khan

Simon Kirby

Roger Knapman

Angela Knight

Michael Knowles

Norman Lamb

Ivan Lawrence

Mark Lazarowicz

Andrea Leadsom

Karen Lee

Phillip Lee

Jeremy Lefroy

David Lepper

Charlotte Leslie

Tom Levitt

Ivan Lewis

Ian Liddell Grainger

David Roy Lidington

David Linden

John Martin Linton

Emma Little Pengelly

Timothy Loughton

Ian Lucas

Peter Luff

Iain Luke

Andrew Mackinlay

Rachel Maclean

Mary Macleod

Fiona Mactaggart

William Madel

Shahid Rafique Malik

Clare Mallaber

Scott Mann

Keith Mans

Gordon Marsden

Edmund Marshall

Robert Marshall Andrews

Sandy Martin

Eric Martlew

Paul Masterton

Michael Mates

Tania Mathias

Sarah Mccarthy Fry

James McGovern

Anne Mcguire

Elizabeth Mcinnes

John Mcnally

Anthony Mcnulty

Tony Mcwalter

Michael Meadowcroft

Joseph Alan Meale

James Mearns

Mark Menzies

Stephen Metcalfe

Alun Michael

Alan Milburn

Amanda Milling

Anne Milton

Laura Moffatt

Madeleine Moon

Damien Moore

Penelope Mordaunt

David Morris

David Mowat

George Mudie

Gregory Mulholland

Christopher Mullin

William Mullin

Margaret Munn

Sheryll Murray

Richard Francis Needham

Robert Neill

Gavin Newlands

Brooks Newmark

Sarah Newton

Patrick Nicholls

David John Nicholson

Steven Norris

David Nuttall

Michael Ollerenshaw

George Osborne

Sandra Osborne

Richard Geoffrey James Ottaway

Albert Owen

James Edward Thornton Paice

Ian Paisley

Nicholas Douglas Palmer

Teresa Pearce

Ian Phares Pearson

Michael Penning

John Penrose

Andrew Percy

Linda Perham

Claire Perry

Christopher Pond

Gregory Pope

Michael Portillo

Stephen Pound

Bridget Prentice

Victoria Prentis

Mark Prisk

James Purnell

Jeremy Quin

Lawrence Quinn

Denys Race

William Rammell

Sydney Rapson

Mian Rashid

Wyvil Raynsford

John Redwood

Andrew Reed

Jamieson Ronald Reed

Simon Reevell

Graham Riddick

Malcolm Rifkind

Hugh Robertson

Laurence Robertson

Mark Robinson

Mary Robinson

Marion Audrey Roe

Terence Rooney

Steven Rotheram

Paul Rowen

Danielle Rowley

Christopher Ruane

Joan Ruddock

David Ruffley

Robert Russell

Lloyd Russell Moyle

Joan Ryan

Timothy Sainsbury

Alexander Salmon

Martin Salter

Antoinette Sandbach

Adrian Mark Sanders

Laura Sandys

Malcolm Savidge

Lee Scott

Paul Scully

Andrew Selous

Thomas Sheppard

Debra Ann Shipley

Gavin Shuker

Alan Simpson

David Simpson

Dennis Skinner

Henry Smith

Caroline Spelman

Robin Squire

Anthony Steen

Michael Stephen

Michael Stern

George Stevenson

David Stewart

Iain Stewart

Ian Stewart

Howard Stoate

John Straw

David Sumberg

Hugo Summerson

Gerry Sutcliffe

Ian Swales

Paul Sweeney

Walter Sweeney

Joanne Swinson

Robert Syms

Daria Taylor

Michelle Thomson

Maggie Throup

Anthony Timpson

Michael Tomlinson-Mynors

Craig Tracey

David Tredinnick

Anne Marie Trevelyan

Andrew Turner

Ian David Twinn

Theresa Villiers

Thelma Walker

Joan Walley

Robert Walter

Lynda Waltho

Claire Ward

John Watson

Steven Webb

Michael Weir

Petrie Wells

Heather Wheeler

Eilidh Whiteford

Martin Whitfield

Ann Widdecomb

Alan Williams

Betty Helena Williams

Mark Williams

Paul Williams

Roger Hugh Williams

Stephen Roy Williams

Brian Wilson

Philip Wilson

Robert Wilson

Sarah Wollaston

Derek Wyatt

Timothy Stephen Kenneth Yeo

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