Ex-NI Office minister on life after politics: ‘Employers do the Googling and they don't want me'
Speaking to Politico, Steve Baker, the former NIO minister and member of parliament for Wycombe, said that potential employers are put off hiring him due to his past in politics.
Mr Baker called on the Conservative Party to offer employment to ex-MPs in order to ease the transition of former politicians back into civilian life.
The ex-minister criticised the current redundancy entitlement of four-months pay that ex-MPs receive as 'nowhere near large enough.'
'If we want MPs to exercise leadership, there has to be some kind of safety net that you fall into if you lose your seat,' he said.
During the interview, Mr Baker suggested that Conservative donors could help ease the transition by offering employment to ex-MP's and expressed concern about the quality of the career advice provided by the party.
He added that having a public profile from a past life in politics makes getting a new role more difficult.
'What I don't need is: Here's how to apply for a mid-ranking job in a corporate.'
'As soon as I apply, they know who I am, they do the Googling and they don't want me.
'I don't require emotional support from the Conservative Party. If they offered it to me, I'd be extremely disappointed that they had kept money back.'
He is calling for redundancy pay of one year's salary in order 'to get us over the horrible process of actually getting a job when you're well-known.'
Mr Baker was Conservative MP for Wycombe since 2010, but was one of a series of high-profile Tories to lose their seats in July's election.
'I don't require emotional support from the Conservative Party. If they offered it to me, I'd be extremely disappointed'
He was minister of state for Northern Ireland between September 2022, when he was appointed by Liz Truss, and May 2024.
The former MP was part of the Eurosceptic wing of conservative party, and made numerous interventions in the debates around Brexit that caused divisions within the conservative party.
A self-styled 'hard man of Brexit', in 2022 Mr Baker apologised for some of his behaviour towards Ireland and the EU during the negotiations.
He admitted that he and others did not "always behave in a way which encouraged Ireland and the European Union to trust us to accept that they have legitimate interests'.
Mr Baker lost his seat to Labour's Emma Reynolds in the most recent general election, suffering a 17.5% vote swing away from him, finishing on 11,444 votes to Mrs Reynolds' 16,035.
Speaking in December 2024 to the Irish Times, Mr Baker said he was reluctant to return to Northern Ireland following his time in office, saying 'I would not trust loyalists not to want me dead.'
He also said that 'I am embarrassed that Ireland was treated the way it was by the United Kingdom.'
"It was wrong. God knows over our history Ireland has been treated badly by the UK. It's f**king shaming.'
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