Petition Abolish the deposit needed to stand for parliament!

This Government should encourage more participation in the democratic process by abolishing the deposit needed to stand for parliament. The £500 deposit required to stand in General Elections is a deterrent to working class candidates as it equates to more than a week's salary for millions of workers throughout the country.

The lack of independent candidates standing for Parliament is an often cited factor in the disillusionment of the electorate, as the general perception of politicians is that they are nothing but out of touch self-serving Machiavellians. Only when there is a more diverse array of candidates taking part in elections will voter turnout increase along with confidence in our parliamentary democracy.

PS. The £5000 deposit required for participation in European Parliament elections should, needless to say, also be abolished for the reasons outlined above!