Submitted on Saturday 17th January 2026
Rejected on Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: duplicate (see below for details)
Call a by-election when an MP defects or is expelled from a party.
A UK parliamentary by-election happens when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant between general elections. This is either when an MP dies, is recalled via petition, convicted or joins the House of Lords. Yet they can change party or become an independent at a whim.
If an MP defects to another party or is expelled from a party or otherwise changes political affiliation from that that they were elected upon, this should trigger a by-election so that the people can give their say upon who they actually want to represent them.
You can't sign this petition because it was rejected. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!
The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:
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
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/737660
216.73.217.50 Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:23:01 +0100
