This petition was submitted during the 2017-2019 parliament
Rejected petition Hold By-Elections when MPs "Cross the Floor" or "Lose the Whip"
This Bill seeks to ensure that all MPs;
[A] Who join or create another party
[B] or declare their Independence, or
[C] Who "lose their parties whip" would be liable to stand in an immediate By-Election, so that their constituents could have the final say on their decision.
More details
Rarely discussed by MPs, the arguments against such a Bill stem from Edmund Burke’s speech in Bristol in 1774. Burke argued that MPs are sent to Parliament as representatives, not delegates, and as such sit in the House as individuals, not bound by party constraint, but each free to choose how best to represent their constituents, even if that seems to be against their best interests.
In the 21st century, for the electorate to be denied a voice when their representative changes his or her own mind is patently undemocratic. We do vote for the party we support, which is why the Political Party names and logos were added to the ballot paper.
PLEASE SUPPORT THIS PETITION SO THAT YOUR VOICE IS HEARD
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
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https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/269912
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