Recall elections

Recall allows voters to remove an elected representative between scheduled elections. In the UK, only MPs in the House of Commons can currently be recalled.

The Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament has passed a bill, introduced by the Welsh Government, that would create a new system of recall for Members of the Senedd. The provisions are not yet in force.

The Scottish Parliament rejected a Member’s Bill to introduce recall in the Scottish Parliament in February 2026.

Triggers for a recall petition in the House of Commons

The Recall of MPs Act 2015 states that MPs can be recalled under three circumstances:

• If they are convicted in the UK of any offence and have been sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained, after all appeals have been exhausted. Note: a sentence of over 12 months in prison automatically disqualifies someone from being an MP.
• If they are suspended from the House following a report and recommended sanction from the Committee on Standards for a specified period (at least 10 sitting days, or at least 14 days if sitting days are not specified).
• If they are convicted of an offence under section 10 of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 (making false or misleading parliamentary allowances claims). Note: the sentence does not have to be custodial for this condition to be met.

When a trigger condition is met, the Speaker must notify the local returning officer. The local returning officer then becomes the petition officer responsible for running the recall process.

Recall petitions

The main features of a recall petition relating to an MP are that:

• It is open for six weeks.
• Electors may sign the petition in person at a signing station, or they may sign by post or by proxy.
• If the petition is signed by 10% of eligible registered voters, it succeeds and the MP loses their seat. If the 10% threshold is not reached, the recall fails and the MP retains their seat.

If the 10% threshold is reached, the petition officer informs the Speaker of the House of Commons. Once that notice has been given, the seat becomes vacant. A recalled MP may stand as a candidate in the resulting by-election.

The timing of a UK parliamentary by-election is determined by custom of the House of Commons: the party that previously held the seat will usually decide when to trigger the by-election.

Review of the 2015 act

The Electoral Commission has reviewed the operation of recalls. It has found them to be well run but has called on the government to “review the policy and legislation for recall petitions to identify changes that would improve the experience for electors and the administration of future petitions.”

The commission noted that the secrecy of the process raised concerns, as someone going to the petition-signing station would, by virtue of going there, be in favour of the recall. It has also questioned whether the six-week opening period is too long.

The House of Commons Committee on Standards has noted that recall procedures have been widely welcomed but noted there is “there is no readily identifiable consensus” on addressing concerns about the operation of the 2015 act. It recommended that the 2015 act should be subject to post-legislative scrutiny by a committee of the House.

Recalls since 2015

Six recall petitions have been held to date. Four were successful, one failed and one was terminated early.

Trigger 1: Criminal conviction

• Fiona Onasanya (Peterborough) in 2019: the MP was sentenced to three months in prison in December 2018 for perverting the course of justice. She was recalled in May 2019.

Trigger 2: Suspension from the House of Commons

• Ian Paisley (North Antrim) in 2018: less than 10% of the electorate signed the petition and the MP retained his seat.
• Margaret Ferrier (Hamilton and Rutherglen West) in 2023: the MP was recalled.
• Peter Bone (Wellingborough) in 2023: the MP was recalled.
• Scott Benton (Blackpool South) in 2024: the petition was terminated early because the MP resigned.

Trigger 3: Conviction of a section 10 offence under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009

• Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnor) in 2019: the MP was recalled. To date, he is the only recalled MP to have contested the subsequent by-election. He was not re-elected.