Closed petition Amend the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 to allow for early General Elections

Closed on 13 January 2017

The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 should be changed to legislate for the triggering of a General Election when a change in leadership of the majority party results in the resignation of the Prime Minister whilst there is more than 20% of the defined 5 year parliamentary fixed term left to run.

Often a change in leadership of a majority political party leads to a change of Prime Minister and a reshuffle of senior Cabinet posts. This can lead to changes in the political agenda of the Government that take it away from the platform on which it was elected. If the period between the date of appointment of a new Prime Minister and the date on which Parliament would be dissolved under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 is more than a year, an early General Election should be triggered.