Parliamentary briefing: Representation of the People Bill (Part 3 – Conduct of elections: Returning officers, candidate nominations and identification, candidate security) – Committee Stage
Overview
24 March 2026
This briefing has been prepared ahead of Committee Stage consideration of Part 3 of the Representation of the People Bill. If you have any questions about this briefing, or the Bill more generally, please contact [email protected].
Clauses 38 to 39 – Returning Officers
These clauses place an obligation on local authorities to ensure that Returning Officers can call on council staff to support the delivery of elections, and provide that a senior officer must be appointed as a Returning Officer.
- These clauses will help ensure that returning officers have the seniority and access to resources they need to run elections effectively, so that voters, parties and campaigners have confidence in well-run elections.
Clause 40 – Timing of proceedings for candidate nominations
This clause amends the deadline for candidate nominations at UK Parliamentary general elections and Northern Ireland local elections.
- Currently, nominations can be delivered between 10am and 4pm during the nominations period and the deadline is 4pm on the last day of the period.
- Clause 40 amends the nomination period for general elections so nominations can be delivered between 9am and 5pm, except on the final day of the nomination period when delivery can take place between 9am and 12pm. This makes 12pm on the last day the deadline for delivering nominations. This clause also amends the objections deadline to account for the amendments to the nominations period and deadline.
- This change would provide more flexibility for candidates or their agents to deliver nomination papers. It would also give election teams more time on the final day to resolve queries, approve ballot papers and, for UK Parliamentary elections, begin printing postal ballots for overseas electors. This would help overseas voters receive, complete and return their postal vote in time for it to be counted.
Clauses 41 and 42 – Candidate identification
These clauses introduce a requirement for a candidate to provide evidence of their identity, at UK parliamentary elections and Northern Ireland local elections.
- Under current rules, a candidate must complete a set of nomination papers and sign a declaration of truth that the details they have provided are accurate. There is no requirement for a candidate to show ID as part of this, but it is an offence to provide a false statement on nomination papers.
- The 2024 UK general election presented new challenges to the nomination system, with reports of alleged fake candidates and multiple candidates of the same name. The Commission recommended strengthening the requirements to deter candidates from misleading voters about their true identities.
- Clauses 41 and 42 add a requirement for a candidate’s nomination papers at UK parliamentary elections and Northern Ireland local elections to be accompanied by, or by copies of, prescribed documents providing evidence of the candidate’s identity. The list of accepted documents will be set out in regulations.
- These clauses also provide for a new ‘declaration of truth’. This must be signed by the candidate alongside their nomination papers to confirm awareness of offences relating to false statements on nomination papers, and that the papers do not contain any information or statement known to be false.
- The clauses also prevent inspection of identity documents other than for a purpose authorised by law, set out circumstances where a nomination may not be valid in relation to identity documents and provide for the destruction of identity evidence.
Key considerations
- Changes to the nominations process need to strike a balance between security, accessibility and workability.
- The new requirement would provide assurance that the person named on the nomination paper exists as a real person. But it would not necessarily ensure that this is the same person who has submitted the nomination or consented to be nominated. This could only be achieved by requiring nomination papers to be submitted in person, allowing a visual check of the ID, which would significantly reduce the accessibility of the nominations process and increase the impact on Returning Officers and electoral administrators.
- These new requirements must also be workable in practice. The proposed measures would place additional requirements on electoral administrators to check the validity of identity documents for every candidate at a critical point in the election timetable.
Devolved considerations
- These changes do not apply to devolved elections in Scotland and Wales. There is the potential for significant divergence between the processes for reserved and devolved elections. We will support candidates and administrators in preparing for and managing any reserved elections in which the requirement applies.
Key considerations
- It is important that these measures maintain fairness to candidates and subscribers. Parties should be responsible for carrying out due diligence on their candidates before the nominations period. Late changes to candidates risk confusing voters, particularly if a candidate has already started campaigning.
- Amending the rules to allow a subscriber to subscribe another nomination form in the event of a candidate ceasing to be nominated because of the withdrawal of party support should help maintain access to the nomination process for candidates and subscribers.
- Candidates who wish to re-submit nomination papers following a withdrawal of certificates authorising the use of party descriptions will be able to seek support from the people who had subscribed to their original nomination form. Depending on the timing of the withdrawal of authorisation, however, there may be limited time for candidates to obtain the necessary support from subscribers and submit new nomination papers before the deadline.
Devolved considerations
- These changes do not apply to devolved elections in Scotland and Wales. There is the potential for significant divergence between the processes for reserved and devolved elections. We will support candidates and administrators in preparing for and managing any reserved elections at which parties can withdraw support from a candidate before the nomination deadline.
Clauses 45 and 46 – candidate security measures
These clauses propose some key changes to improve the security of candidates. Part 6 of the Bill introduces further changes in relation to the criminal law and disqualification.
- There has been a worrying rise in the abuse and intimidation of candidates in recent years. This has a significant impact on individuals and can deter those considering standing, thereby limiting the diversity of candidates and choice for voters.
- At the 2024 general election, we found that over half (55%) of candidates felt they had experienced some harassment, intimidation or abuse. Women were twice as likely, and ethnic minority respondents three times as likely, to report serious abuse.
- The Commission supports candidates, campaigners and parties to understand what constitutes abuse and where to go for help if they experience it. We are currently considering how a code of conduct for campaigning, as recommended by the Speaker’s Conference, could facilitate a robust but respectful campaigning environment.
- We will continue to work closely with partners, including the police, to support responses to allegations of abuse. We will work with the Government to update guidance for police, electoral administrators and candidates on election safety and security
- Later parts of the Bill make further changes to improve the security and safety of candidates and electoral staff, including the introduction of a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing and the removal of the requirement to publish election agents’ addresses.
Clause 45 – Police contact form
- Clause 45 makes provision for candidates to complete and return an additional (optional) form – the ‘police contact form’ – which would include the candidate’s full (and commonly used) names, and a statement that they wish to be contacted by police for matters relating to candidate safety.
- Under these provisions, the Returning Officer must give a copy of the form to the relevant chief officer of police as soon as practicable after the publication of the statement of persons nominated. The RO cannot permit the inspection of the form by any person other than for a purpose authorised by law.
Key consideration
- This change should help support the safety and security of candidates. It places on a legislative footing changes we have already made to the 2026 nomination packs, which now include an optional candidate contact details sheet.
- However, there appears to be no corresponding duty on the police to respond or follow up, which risks raising false expectations for candidates and operational ambiguity for Returning Officers and police forces.
Clause 46 – Calling out and completed corresponding number lists etc
- This clause would remove the requirement in Northern Ireland for a poll clerk to call out the name and number of everyone they give a ballot paper to. There is no evidence that the absence of this requirement in polling stations elsewhere in the UK has led to an increased risk of electoral fraud. This would bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK.