Conservatives to lose 1,000 years of experience as MPs stampede for exit

The Conservative party will lose almost 1,000 years of Commons experience just from MPs who have already announced they are standing down, a Guardian analysis has shown, amid an exodus likely to be even greater than in 1997.

- Peter walker

So far, 66 MPs elected as Conservatives in 2019 have announced they will not stand again – this includes four who have since lost the whip and sit as independents – which is close to one in five of the total.

In 1997, the last time the Conservatives faced a likely wipeout after many years in power, 72 Tories stood down, a total expected to be exceeded especially if, as many predict, Rishi Sunak delays an election until the autumn.

The 66 standing down have a combined 987 years of parliamentary experience. Their departure, coupled with the expected defeat of many dozens more longstanding Tories, could represent an unprecedented loss of institutional memory for the party.

This averages at just under 15 years per MP, with the longest stint being Bill Cash, who was first elected in Stafford in 1984, shifting to the adjoining Staffordshire seat of Stone in 1997.

Notably, however, of the 66 Tories, nine are stepping down after just one term. Three more entered parliament in 2017 and eight in 2015, meaning almost a third of those quitting have been MPs for less than a decade.