Submitted by Richard James Donaldson on Friday 30th January 2026
Published on Friday 6th March 2026
Current status: Open
Open until: Sunday 6th September 2026
Current Signatures: 198,256
(count is updated approximately hourly)
Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office
Introduce a new legal disqualification so people convicted of terrorism offences (in the UK or abroad) cannot stand as candidates or hold elected office, including local councils.
This is needed because current local election disqualification rules focus mainly on recent imprisonment thresholds (for example, being sentenced to 3 months or more within the last 5 years) and therefore may not prevent individuals with serious historic convictions from standing today. The Electoral Commission notes that the returning officer cannot confirm whether a candidate is disqualified and candidates self-declare their eligibility when submitting nomination papers.
If you want to sign this petition (as opposed to merely discuss it), you need to do that on the government's e-Petitions website.
The Government responded to this petition on Wednesday 1st April 2026
Anyone sentenced to 3 months or more in prison is disqualified for 5 years from local government. We keep the broader counter terrorism framework under constant review to ensure it is fit for purpose.
Currently anyone who has received a custodial sentence of 3 months or more, suspended or not, is disqualified for 5 years from standing or sitting as a member of a local authority. Councillors and candidates must declare anything that might disqualify them from standing for or holding local office. Not doing so is potentially a criminal offence.
For the role of Police and Crime Commissioner, an individual is disqualified from standing for, and holding office, if they have ever been convicted of an imprisonable offence.
As regards Members of Parliament, the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 and the Representation of the People Act 1981 set out the criteria which disqualify an individual from membership of the UK Parliament.
The UK has one of the strongest counter terrorism frameworks in the world. This includes a range of specialised counter terrorism powers which support detection and disruption of terrorist risk, as well as a robust toolkit for managing terrorist offenders upon their release. We always keep this framework under review to ensure it is fit for purpose in the context of emerging threats. This is supported through independent scrutiny provided by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
This petition has reached the threshold for a Parliamentary debate, but the debate has not yet been scheduled.
216.73.217.50 Sat, 20 Jun 2026 13:44:53 +0100
