Hello and welcome to The Rundown, a podcast from Politics Home with me Alan Tolhurst.

This week, we're looking at what happens when MPs stop being MPs.

After hundreds of parliamentarians left the Commons this summer following Labor's landslide

victory, what happens to all those turfed out of their seats?

Is there enough support, both financial and pastoral, and helping them move on with their lives?

How easy is it to find a new career outside Westminster? And do we have the wrong impression about what life is like for ex-MPs? With me to discuss all that and more, I'm delighted to be joined by three former concerted of MPs, all of whom left Parliament in July. They are Vicky Ford, ex-MP for Chelmsford, James Sunderland, Representative

Bracknell, and Matt Warman, former member for Boston and Skegness. So I just kind of start

with each of you, kind of, one it's kind of been like, starting with you, James, you and I bumped into each other at party conference last month. We'll kind of start with each of you, kind of what it's kind of been like, starting with you, James.

You and I bumped into each other at party conference last month, we'll kind of get into later.

But how's it kind of been these past almost four months now since the election?

Well, Alan, we spoke recently and I was very kindly invited onto your podcast this morning.

I was debating with myself how honest I was going to be. And I've made the decision this morning. I was debating with myself how honest

I was going to be. And I've made the decision this morning that I'm going to be very honest

with you and very direct. And it's been very difficult. I found the process and the experience of

losing my seat much more profound than I thought it would be. It's been very difficult. Why? Because we're not a wealthy

family. I spent my entire working life in public service. I've been well paid, but not huge money.

And of course, when you lose your job, you lose your community. You lose something that you've worked

very hard to get to. You lose your constituents. Having worked

so hard for Bracknell, it was very difficult. There are many reasons why we lost the seat. We can

discuss that in due course, but much more difficult, much more profound than I thought it would.

Yeah, Vicki, I saw you nodding along now. I've heard some former MPs talk about it being a bit

like a bereavement, you know, when you lose your seat. And I saw that you tweeted, I think,

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