Petitions/Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office
StatusOngoing
Opened6 Mar 2026
Closes
Government responseResponded
Parliamentary debateDebated · 7 Jul 2026
Milestones 10,000 100,000

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.

206,460Total signatures
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Government response

We currently have no plans to change the disqualification criteria for these offences. We keep the UK’s broader counter terrorism framework under constant review to ensure it is fit for purpose.

Constituency engagement ranking

Laurence Turner
1Laurence Turner MP
Birmingham Northfield
593
Andy MacNae
2Andy MacNae MP
Rossendale and Darwen
557
Sarah Edwards
3Sarah Edwards MP
Tamworth
555
Jake Richards
4Jake Richards MP
Rother Valley
547
Saqib Bhatti
5Saqib Bhatti MP
Meriden and Solihull East
542
Nigel Farage
6Nigel Farage MP
Clacton
519
Sir Andrew Mitchell
7Sir Andrew Mitchell MP
Sutton Coldfield
512
Josh Newbury
8Josh Newbury MP
Cannock Chase
504
Lorraine Beavers
9Lorraine Beavers MP
Blackpool North and Fleetwood
501
Alex Burghart
10Alex Burghart MP
Brentwood and Ongar
501