Conservative MPs live longer (unless you’re leader) but all politicians live longer than the rest of us
How tough is the rough and tumble of political life? Not that bad, really. It turns out the long hours, highly demanding work load and high-vis jacket wearing doesn't take as much of a toll as you might think.
MPs are likely to live longer than the rest of us, eking out an extra four years on average, a new study reveals.
The lives of nearly 5,000 MPs and peers since 1945, reveal that compared to the standard rates of mortality, those in the seats of power live longer than the rest of us and "have never had it so good".
The death rate of MPs was more than a quarter lower than the general population, while for Lords it was 37 per cent lower.
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But there is also a party political divide the study, by researchers at the University of Exeter and published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), reveals.
Conservative party members had the lowest death rate of all. "the relative mortality of Labour MPs was 18 per cent higher than that of Conservative MPs" the researchers said. However, it's likely the difference comes down to background – researchers found that there was little difference when education was taken into account.
There's bad news for David Cameron, though, and anyone else who becomes Prime Minister. A separate study, also published by the BMJ found that becoming head of government was associated with a "substantial" increase in mortality risk compared to those who never served as head of state, and that they may age more quickly.