Rejected petition Immediate by-election if an MP or councillor switches party.

If an MP or councillor leaves switches their party loyalties then it should trigger an immediate by-election.

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When an MP or councillor is voted for it is usually because the voter agrees with the policies of the party the MP represents. When an MP or councillor then abandons the party they were standing for it should mean their constituents get a choice in whether they agree with this.

This should be either an immediate by-election and will help keep MPs to keep their word.

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.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

You may wish to sign the following petition, which calls for similar action:

By-elections to be called automatically when MPs defect to another party
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/737660

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 15 January 2026
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