Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office
This petition gathered 206,809 signatures between 6 March 2026 and 6 September 2026, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 6 May 2026. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 6 July 2026.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office
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.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 6 May 2026; the petitions site lists the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government as responsible. Its summary:
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.
The response in full:
We currently have no plans to change the disqualification criteria for these offences.
Currently anyone who has been convicted of any offence in the UK and receives a custodial sentence of three months or more, suspended or not, is disqualified for five years from standing or sitting as a member of an English local authority. Candidates must declare that they are not disqualified from standing for or holding local office. Making a false statement is potentially a criminal offence.
Other disqualification criteria applying to councillors in England include:
• Those under certain bankruptcy restrictions.
• Those disqualified for illegal or corrupt election practices.
• Those subject to certain notification requirements or a relevant order relating to sexual offences.
• Those disqualified when convicted of certain intimidatory criminal offences against certain persons, including candidates of a relevant elective office.
The UK has one of the strongest counter terrorism frameworks in the world. This includes a range of specialised counter terrorism powers which support detection and disruption of terrorist risk, as well as a robust toolkit for managing terrorist offenders upon their release. We always keep this framework under review to ensure it is fit for purpose in the context of emerging threats. This is supported through independent scrutiny provided by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/759385)
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Birmingham Northfield, with 8.0 signatures per 1,000 electors (594 in all).
204,689 of the signatures were from the UK and 2,120 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Northfield | 594 | 74,048 | 8.0 |
| Rother Valley | 548 | 69,459 | 7.9 |
| Rossendale and Darwen | 557 | 74,440 | 7.5 |
| Meriden and Solihull East | 542 | 73,659 | 7.4 |
| Tamworth | 556 | 75,055 | 7.4 |
| North Warwickshire and Bedworth | 497 | 69,752 | 7.1 |
| Sutton Coldfield | 512 | 74,080 | 6.9 |
| Blackpool North and Fleetwood | 501 | 73,339 | 6.8 |
| Redditch | 482 | 71,042 | 6.8 |
| Brentwood and Ongar | 502 | 75,352 | 6.7 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| North West | 28,428 |
| South East | 28,052 |
| West Midlands | 21,674 |
| East of England | 21,303 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 19,210 |
| South West | 18,353 |
| East Midlands | 16,576 |
| London | 13,436 |
| Scotland | 12,590 |
| North East | 10,774 |
| Wales | 10,711 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,310 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 6 July 2026. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/759385.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
a3c3d9902d6208a8… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.