Closed petition Abolish taxpayer-funded payouts to Government Ministers who are sacked or who resign

Closed on 5 August 2012

When MPs who are Government Ministers are sacked or resign they can claim a taxpayer-funded payout equal to a quarter of their annual ministerial salary. That is despite the fact they will still be paid their MP's salary of over £65,000 per year.

This even happens when an MP who is a Government Minister keeps their seat in an election but their party is booted out of power. After the 2010 General Election, for example, the taxpayer had to pay out more than £1 million to politicians who lost their ministerial jobs because their party had lost the election.

To fulfil the demands of this petition, HM Government should ask Parliament to repeal Section 4 of the 'Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991', which provides the legal basis for these payouts.

With the public finances under immense strain, abolishing payouts to Government Ministers who are sacked or who resign would help taxpayers feel that politicians were doing their bit to help.