Outgoing Tory MPs take lucrative second jobs and ‘swan off on jollies’

Sixty four Tories and four independent MPs who lost party whip plan to stand down from the Commons amid dire polling for Conservatives

A cohort of Conservative MPs standing down before the next election have netted jobs worth millions of pounds and have taken dozens of all-expenses-paid trips funded by foreign governments and lobbyists, the Observer can reveal.

Sixty-four serving Tory MPs and four independent MPs who lost the Tory whip have announced that they plan to stand down at the next election amid polling that suggests their party may face an electoral wipeout.