Rejected petition Change the law to trigger a by-election when an MP defects to another party.

Current UK electoral process allows an MP to switch parties once elected, betraying the confidence voters put in them.

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To stop injustice of political party (A) being allowed to increase influence by poaching constituencies won by party (B). In such cases voters are left feeling deceived, and their voices, muted. The change in law would help improve voter confidence, and encourage increased voter turnout out, which has been getting progressively worse. 2019 average turnout all regions (England, Wales, NI) 66.7% turnout. 2024 59.1%
( % data House of Commons Library)

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 this petition which calls for a similar action:
Require a by-election if MPs / Councillors change parties or become independent
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/757091

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

Date submitted 6 April 2026
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