Rejected petition Require MPs who change party to seek a new mandate via a by-election

At present, MPs can change their party after being elected without asking voters if they still wish them to represent them. This can weaken democratic accountability. Requiring MPs who switch party to trigger a by-election would allow constituents to decide if they still support their representation

More details

At present, MPs may change their party affiliation after being elected without consulting voters. Many constituents vote for a party and its manifesto, not just an individual candidate.
Requiring a by-election when an MP changes party would uphold democratic accountability and allow voters to decide whether the MP should continue to represent them.
This petition calls on Parliament to amend the Recall of MPs Act or introduce new legislation so that a party change triggers a by-election.

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 16 January 2026
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