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Sixty more MPs are set to retire at the next election in a bid to avoid losing thousands of pounds from the Kelly reforms, the Standard has learned.
Senior Commons sources revealed that whips of all parties had estimated that more than 10 per cent of the 646 MPs in Parliament were now expected to step aside on polling day.
The main reason for the exodus is the slashing of severance pay included in the Kelly Report, sources said.
At the coming election, MPs who retire will get up to £60,000 in "resettlement" payments, but they are now set to be cut to just two or three months' salary, equivalent to £10,000.
The loss of the "golden parachutes", more than any other change in the expenses system, has sparked panic among older backbenchers.
The Kelly reforms would only affect the next general election after this one and so many see this as their last chance to pick up the payoff.
The number of MPs who have already said they will retire is one of the highest in history. The Standard has discovered that 111 MPs have told their local parties they will quit, with 70 Labour, 32 Tory and eight from other parties.
If another 60 MPs quit on top of those already announced, that would mean nearly a quarter of the entire House of Commons would give up their seats.
Only around a dozen of those directly embroiled in the expenses saga have signalled they will quit, while many others don't want to carry on with the new system.
Given that the Tories are set for a big majority, many Labour MPs are likely to be turfed out of office. Some pollsters have estimated that about 325 MPs in total will go.
