Petition · past parliament

Repeal The Vagrancy Act 1824

Closed 329 signatures

What the petition asks

The Vagrancy Act 1824 makes it an offence to sleep rough or beg.

It is a barbaric, archaic law that criminalises the very existence of those homeless forced to take to the streets or beg for survival.
Scotland & Ireland removed this outdated law decades ago - England & Wales must join them.

This legislation remains in force and in use. The Government currently has no plans to make changes to the law.

Timeline

13 Dec 2018 Petition opened for signatures
13 Jun 2019 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 329
Status Closed
Opened 13 Dec 2018
Closed 13 Jun 2019

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