The government’s scheme to apply Off-Payroll rules to the private sector has put 85 MPs in danger of losing their seats at the next general election, unless they choose to take sides with contractors and dispute the scheme.

A survey of 2,000 contractors suggested that 49 per cent of contractors would not support their local MP in the event of them campaigning for the extension of Off-Payroll rules.

The Office for National Statistics took the results of this survey along with the amount of self-employed voters in each region to calculate how much of an impact this would have on overall election results. The 85 MPs identified are in danger of losing their seats if the calculations are accurate, including 40 Conservative MPs and 24 Labour MPs.

Experts have suggested that the inability to secure votes from self-employed individuals would “prove catastrophic” for those that they vote against. While those that the self-employed individuals choose to vote for could gain from it immensely. MPs in “precarious positions” should ensure they are able to win over contractors’ votes in order to keep their seats.

It has also been suggested that if the findings are correct then Labour is set to be in a much stronger position as contractors vote for them instead of the Conservative MP they would have otherwise voted for, thus giving Labour more seats in parliament.

With the amount of self-employed people growing each year, it is important for politicians not to ignore their needs if they want to stay in a strong political position.