List of MPs who stood down at the 2010 United Kingdom general election
A record number of Members of Parliament (MPs) stood down at the United Kingdom general election of 2010, meaning they were MPs in the 54th Parliament, but chose not to contest the 2010 general election, in some cases after being deselected by their parties. This election had an unusually high number of MPs choosing not to seek re-election with more standing down than did so at the 1945 election (which on account of the extraordinary wartime circumstances came ten years after the preceding election). This has  been attributed to the expenses scandal and the fact that redundancy-style payments for departing MPs may be scrapped after the election. In all, 149 MPs (100 Labour, 35 Conservatives, 7 Liberal Democrats, 2 independents, 1 Independent Conservative and 1 member each from Plaid Cymru, Scottish National Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, and Social Democratic and Labour Party) announced that they would not be contesting the next election. In four of these cases a sitting MP was not selected by their Constituency Labour Party to stand. In addition, three seats were vacant at the dissolution of Parliament on 12 April  2010, where the sitting MP had died or resigned and no by-election had been held. Labour. Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) barred five MPs from standing as official Labour Party candidates at the 2010 general election in the wake of the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal. However, they could stand as independent candidates. Three of these MPs, David Chaytor, Margaret Moran and Elliot Morley, stated that they would be standing down as MPs. Another, Ian Gibson, resigned his seat, causing a by-election in Norwich North that was won by Conservative candidate Chloe Smith. The fifth, Jim Devine , hinted either at forcing a by-election or standing for re-election as an independent, but ended up standing down. The East Lothian Labour Party voted on 19 March 2010 to deselect their MP, Anne Moffat, who appealed the decision the NEC, which rejected her appeal. Moffat chose to stand down at the general election, and it was revealed that she had been negotiating a pension based on retirement with a health condition at the same time she was fighting the deselection. List of Labour MPs standing down: Other parties. Andrew Pelling (Croydon Central), who was elected as a Conservative  but had the party whip withdrawn, announced on 4 December 2007 that he would not stand for re-election. He was later reported to be reconsidering, and on 30 March 2010 he confirmed that he would stand for re-election as an Independent candidate. Seats vacant. Three seats in the House of Commons were vacant when Parliament was dissolved on 12 April. In two cases the sitting Members had indicated that they would be standing down at the general election.