So far, 35 of the 150 MPs who won a seat at the 2012 general election have left parliament, either for other jobs or for personal reasons and seven have switched to a different party.

The latest to quit include VVD parliamentarian Bart de Liefde who said on Wednesday he is going to work for Uber, D66 MP Wassia Hachchi who said last week she is going to work for Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and fellow D66 MP Gerard Schouw who is off to a new job at pharmaceuticals lobby group Nefarma.

According to research by the Financieele Dagblad, around 35 MPs on average don’t see out a full five-year term in office. However, there is still at least a year to go before the next election, so this session could set a new record, the paper says.

Other job

Six of the MPs who left went because they had another public sector job, such as a mayoral position, while 15 were joining the private sector, had been in conflict with their party or had personal reasons. Thirteen MPs have become ministers or junior ministers.

In addition, seven MPs have left the party they were elected for and have set up their own fringe organisations and stayed on in parliament.

SGP parliamentarian Elbert Dijkgraaf says in Thursday’s Volkskrant that MPs need to have very good reasons to quit their job early. ‘My supporters would not be happy,’ he told the paper.

Parliamentary chairwoman Khadija Arib said last week that the high turnover is not good for democracy. ‘This job is a calling and not a little job you can stop when you don’t feel like it any more,’ she said.