MPs and peers live far longer than UK average

A PhD student at the University of Exeter Medical School worked with Just Retirement insurance to examine the number of deaths in almost 5,000 members of the two UK Houses of Parliament compared with the general population over a 65-year period, from 1945-2011.

They compared the observed mortality – or death rates - in members with the expected mortality of the general population, matched to the same sex or age of the member in the year of entry to parliament.

They found that the death rates of MPs were 28% lower than those of the general population, and in Lords they were 37% lower.

Furthermore, the mortality gap between MPs and the general population widened significantly at least until 1999, suggesting that over this period MPs may have become less representative of the population they serve, say the authors.

Mortality among Conservative MPs was lower than in MPs from other political parties, which may reflect underlying differences in social background, particularly in education, they add.

The results also show that MPs first elected at age 60 or more had lower relative mortality than MPs who were elected when younger, while long serving MPs went on to live longer lives than other MPs.

PhD student John Dennis, at the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Our research shows that social inequalities are alive and well in Parliament. At least in terms of mortality, our study shows that MPs have never had it so good.”