This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Scrap all election deposits to open up democracy
We do not think that the ability to pay a specified fee is a relevant or appropriate criterion for determining access to the ballot paper.
The sum, which is returned if a candidate gets at least 5% of votes cast, is “unreasonable" as it depends on financial means. An ‘entry fee’ to democracy.
More details
Election deposits are virtually a ‘tax’ on democracy “The £500 deposit required to run for parliament should be scrapped in order to enable a wider range of candidates to stand, says the Electoral Commission.” This recommendation was made by the Electoral Commission in 2015 . The watchdog said:
“In the case of deposits, it does not seem reasonable to have a barrier to standing for election that depends on someone’s financial means. We do not think that the ability to pay a specified fee is a relevant or appropriate criterion for determining access to the ballot paper.”
“We therefore recommend that deposit requirements are abolished.”
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months