Voters can force a by-election to get rid of their MP at any time during a term of office.
A recall petition against a sitting MP can only be triggered if one of three specific conditions are met. Constituents themselves cannot initiate a recall petition.
Social media posts claiming voters can force by-elections to oust MPs “at any time” under the Recall of MPs Act 2015 are missing crucial context.
Viral posts on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook claim “People in their Constituencies may force a By-Election at any time during a term of office” providing “they get 10% or more of registered Voters to sign a petition recalling their MP” and that all signatories are on the electoral roll.
Although the 10% threshold is correct, a recall petition against a sitting MP can only be triggered if one of three specific conditions are met. Constituents themselves cannot initiate a recall petition.
The first condition is that “an MP is convicted in the United Kingdom of an offence and receives a custodial sentence that is not overturned on an appeal brought within the usual time limit for appeals”.
The second condition is that, “following on from a report from its Committee on Standards, the House of Commons orders the suspension of an MP from the service of the House for a period of at least 10 sitting days, or, if the period is not expressed as a specified number of sitting days, for a period of at least 14 days”.
The third condition is that “an MP is convicted under section 10 of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 (offence of providing false or misleading information for allowances claims), regardless of the sentence imposed”.
It’s not correct therefore to suggest constituents can force a by-election “at any time”.
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Recall petitions are open for six weeks and registered voters in that constituency can sign in person, by post or by proxy. If the 10% threshold is reached, the seat becomes vacant and a by-election is triggered. Recalled MPs may stand in the by-election.
Recent examples of recall include the Conservative MP for Wellingborough, Peter Bone, who was suspended from the House of Commons for six weeks for breaches of Parliament’s bullying and harassment, and sexual misconduct policies. Mr Bone was recalled and a by-election was held on 15 February 2024, which Mr Bone did not contest.
In 2019 the Labour MP for Peterborough, Fiona Onasanya, was sentenced to three months in prison on conviction for perverting the course of justice. Ms Onasanya was recalled and a by-election was held on 6 June 2019, which Ms Onasanya did not contest.
Misinformation spread online about politicians and the political process can undermine trust in democracy. It’s important to consider whether what you are seeing is accurate before sharing it on social media.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context because a recall petition against a sitting MP cannot be used to force a by-election at any time, but can only be triggered if one of three specific conditions are met.
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