Spare a thought for our departing MPs

The MPs who lost their seats spent yesterday clearing out their offices. Their passes stop working later this week, and then they have a few months to wind up their offices and constituency work before truly becoming ex MPs. It is a brutal experience, not least because Westminster is buzzing with newly-elected members. There is always a risk that someone congratulates a member they think has come back as a victorious MP – only to find out they are in fact on their way to pack their working life into cardboard boxes and make their staff redundant.

Before an election, some MPs choose to clear out their offices early, just in case they’re not coming back. But in this campaign, there were a good number of Conservatives who only had an academic understanding that their party was going to lose seats: they didn’t realise that they would be among the numbers being shown the door by the electorate.