Petition · past parliament
Any MP who wishes to "cross the floor" must first resign and face a by-election.
Rejected
10 signatures
What the petition asks
Although in a general election the electorate vote for a person, not a party, this isn't what happens in reality. Most people vote for a particular party. Any MP who wishes to change their allegiance to another party (or become an Independent) should first seek a mandate from their constituents.
When there have been previous calls for MPs to face a by-election if they defect to a different party from the one on whose manifesto they were elected, the Government has responded that such a change would be “a major constitutional reform of the role of Members of Parliament and their independence”. The failure of Parliament to carry out the democratic instruction of the British people in the 2016 referendum demonstrates that such constitutional reform is now overdue.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 15 Aug 2019 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 29 Aug 2019 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
10
Status
Rejected
Rejected
29 Aug 2019
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.