Petition · past parliament

Allow parties to change their constitutions via a simple majority of votes.

Rejected 10 signatures

What the petition asks

Politicians seem to agree that the recent referendum gives the government a mandate to leave the EU. If politicians believe a constitutional change of this magnitude should be enacted by a simple majority vote then they should change their own party constitutional requirements to reflect this.
Article 91 of the Conservative Party's Constitution requires 66% of those voting and over 50% of eligible voters to approve any change to their constitution.

Clause XV of the Labour Party's Constitution requires the support of 2/3 of delegates present at an Annual General Meeting to approve any change to their rules.

MPs should either change their own requirements for constitutional change or recognise that a simple majority is not appropriate for such changes.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

This is a decision for political parties, not the Government or Parliament.

Timeline

23 Jul 2016 Petition opened for signatures
28 Jul 2016 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 10
Status Rejected
Rejected 28 Jul 2016

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.