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Early termination of a recall petition

The six week petition period will be terminated early if:

  • Parliament is dissolved prior to a UK Parliamentary election,1 or
  • the MP’s seat is made vacant for any other reason (such as resignation), or
  • the MP’s conviction, sentence of imprisonment or detention order is overturned

The Speaker will notify the Petition Officer of the early termination of the Petition. 

As soon as reasonably practicable after receiving such a notice the Petition Officer must:

  • take such steps considered necessary to terminate the petition signing process 
  • if the Speaker’s notice is received after the postal signing sheets have been issued, not continue with the opening of the covering envelopes and treat the unopened covering envelopes as if they were counted signing sheets2   
  • give public notice of the termination of the petition process3    

The Petition Officer’s public notice of early termination must include:4  

  • the name and constituency of the MP to whom the petition related
  • the recall condition which was met in relation to that MP
  • the beginning and end dates of the signing period for that petition
  • the termination condition that has been met

The PO in England and Wales must forward the relevant documents to the ERO. In Scotland, the PO must retain the documents.

Last updated: 12 February 2025