Representation of the People Act 1983

Part IIU.K. Stages Common to Contested and Uncontested Elections

U.K.Issue of Writ and Notice of Election

Issue of writU.K.

3(1)Writs for parliamentary elections shall continue to be sealed and issued in accordance with the existing practice of the office of the Clerk of the Crown.U.K.

(2)Each writ shall be in the form in the Appendix and shall be directed to the returning officer by the title of his office as returning officer (and not by his name) and conveyed to him.

(3)Her Majesty may by Order in Council—

(a)specify the manner in which writs are to be conveyed whether by post, by an officer appointed by the Lord Chancellor or, as regards Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State, or otherwise, and make different provision for different classes of writs; and

(b)provide for the giving of receipts for writs by persons to whom they are delivered or who may receive them in the course of their conveyance.

(4)Delivery of the writ to a person for the time being authorised by law to act as deputy for the officer who by virtue of his office is returning officer shall be as good as delivery to the returning officer.

(5)An Order in Council under this rule—

(a)may require a returning officer to provide an address to which writs are to be conveyed and any change of that address; and

(b)may provide for recording those addresses; and

(c)may provide that the delivery of a writ to a person found in and for the time being in charge of a place so recorded as the office of a returning officer shall be as good as delivery to that returning officer.

(6)The person to whom the writ is delivered shall endorse the date of receipt on the writ in the form shown in the Appendix.

(7)A draft of an Order in Council under this rule shall be laid before Parliament, and any such Order may provide for any incidental or supplemental matter.

Conveyance of writ to acting returning officerU.K.

4(1)For an election in a constituency in England and Wales the writ shall (notwithstanding anything in rule 3 above) be conveyed to the acting returning officer if the returning officer—U.K.

(a)has so requested by notice in the form prescribed by an Order in Council under rule 3 and received by the Clerk of the Crown one month or more before the issue of the writ; and

(b)has not revoked it by a further notice in the form so prescribed and received within such time as is mentioned above.

(2)A notice under this rule has effect in relation to all constituencies—

(a)of which the person giving it is returning officer at the time of giving it; or

(b)of which he or a successor in office becomes returning officer by virtue of that office.

(3)Where by virtue of this rule writs are conveyed to the acting returning officer paragraph (5) of rule 3 applies in relation to him as it applies in relation to a returning officer.

Notice of electionU.K.

5(1)The returning officer shall publish notice of the election F1, stating—

(a)the place and times at which nomination papers are to be delivered, and

(b)the date of the poll in the event of a contest,

and the notice shall state that forms of nomination paper may be obtained at that place and those times.

(2)The notice of election shall state the date by which—

(a)applications to [F2vote by post or by proxy], and

(b)other applications and notices about postal or proxy voting,

must reach the registration officer in order that they may be effective for the election.

(3)F3

U.K. Nomination

Nomination of candidatesU.K.

6(1)Each candidate shall be nominated by a separate nomination paper, in the form in the Appendix delivered—

(a)by the candidate himself, or

(b)by his proposer or seconder,

to the returning officer at the place fixed for the purpose, but the paper may be so delivered on the candidate’s behalf by his election agent if the agent’s name and address have been previously given to the returning officer as required by section 67 of this Act or are so given at the time the paper is delivered.

(2)The nomination paper shall state the candidate’s—

(a)full names,

(b)home address in full, and

(c)if desired, description,

and the surname shall be placed first in the list of his names.

(3)The description, if any, shall not exceed 6 words in length, and need not refer to his rank, profession or calling so long as, with the candidate’s other particulars, it is sufficient to identify him.

Subscription of nomination paperU.K.

7(1)The nomination paper shall be subscribed by two electors as proposer and seconder, and by eight other electors as assenting to the nomination.

(2)Where a nomination paper bears the signatures of more than the required number of persons as proposing, seconding or assenting to the nomination of a candidate, the signature or signatures (up to the required number) appearing first on the paper in each category shall be taken into account to the exclusion of any others in that category.

(3)The nomination paper shall give the electoral number of each person subscribing it.

(4)The returning officer—

(a)shall supply any elector with a form of nomination paper at the place and during the time for delivery of nomination papers, and

(b)shall at any elector’s request prepare a nomination paper for signature,

but it is not necessary for a nomination to be on a form supplied by the returning officer.

(5)A person shall not subscribe more than one nomination paper at the same election and, if he does, his signature shall be inoperative on any paper other than the one first delivered, but he shall not be prevented from subscribing a nomination paper by reason only of his having subscribed that of a candidate who has died or withdrawn before delivery of the first mentioned paper.

(6)In this rule—

• “elector” means a person—

(a)who is registered as a parliamentary elector in the constituency in the register to be used at the election, or

(b)who, pending the publication of that register, appears from the electors lists for that register as corrected by the registration officer to be entitled to be so registered.

and accordingly includes a person shown in the register or electors lists as below voting age if it appears from it that he will be of voting age on the day fixed for the poll, but not otherwise; and

Consent to nominationU.K.

8(1)A person shall not be validly nominated unless his consent to nomination—

(a)is given in writing on or within one month before the day fixed as the last day for the delivery of nomination papers,

(b) is attested by one witness, and

(c)is delivered at the place and within the time for the delivery of nomination papers,

subject to paragraph (2) below.

(2)If the returning officer is satisfied that owing to the absence of a person from the United Kingdom it has not been reasonably practicable for his consent in writing to be given as mentioned above, a telegram (or any similar means of communication) consenting to his nomination and purporting to have been sent by him shall be deemed for the purposes of this rule to be consent in writing given by him on the day on which it purports to have been sent, and attestation of his consent shall not be required.

(3)A candidate’s consent given under this rule—

(a)shall state the day, month and year of his birth; and

(b)shall state—

(i)that he is aware of the provisions of the M1House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975; and

(ii)that to the best of his knowledge and belief he is not disqualified for membership of the House of Commons.

DepositU.K.

9(1)A person shall not be validly nominated unless the sum of [F6£500] is deposited by him or on his behalf with the returning officer at the place and during the time for delivery of nomination papers.

(2)The deposit may be made either—

(a)by the deposit of any legal tender, or

(b)by means of a banker’s draft, or

(c)with the returning officer’s consent, in any other manner.

but the returning officer may refuse to accept a deposit sought to be made by means of a banker’s draft if he does not know that the drawer carries on business as a banker in the United Kingdom.

[F7(3)Where the deposit is made on behalf of the candidate, the person making the deposit shall at the time he makes it give his name and address to the returning officer (unless they have previously been given to him under section 67 of this Act or rule 6(1) above).]

Place for delivery of nomination papersU.K.

10(1)The returning officer shall fix the place at which nomination papers are to be delivered to him, and shall attend there during the time for their delivery and for the making of objections to them.

(2)Except in Scotland, the place shall be in—

(a)the constituency; or

(b)the registration area which includes the constituency; or

(c)unless the constituency is a borough constituency, in a district adjoining the constituency or registration area.

For the purposes of paragraph (b) above “registration area” means—

(i)in England and Wales, the area of two or more constituencies which have the same registration officer;

(ii)in Northern Ireland, the county borough of Belfast and each county.

(3)In Scotland the place shall be in—

(a)the constituency; or

(b)the district or (if more than one) any of the districts in which the constituency is situated; or

(c)any district adjoining the district or districts (as the case may be) in which the constituency is situated.

Right to attend nominationU.K.

11(1)Except for the purpose of delivering a nomination paper or of assisting the returning officer, and subject to paragraph (4) below, no person is entitled to attend the proceedings during the time for delivery of nomination papers or for making objections to them unless he is—

(a)a person standing nominated as a candidate, or

(b)the election agent, proposer or seconder of such a person,

but where a candidate acts as his own election agent he may name one other person who shall be entitled to attend in place of his election agent.

(2)Where a person stands nominated by more than one nomination paper, only the persons subscribing as proposer and seconder—

(a)to such one of those papers as he may select, or

(b)in default of such a selection, to that one of those papers which is first delivered,

shall be entitled to attend as his proposer and seconder.

(3)The right to attend conferred by this rule includes the right—

(a)to inspect, and

(b)to object to the validity of,

any nomination paper.

(4)A candidate’s wife or husband is entitled to be present at the delivery of the candidate’s nomination, and may afterwards, so long as the candidate stands nominated, attend the proceedings referred to in paragraph (1) above, but without any such right as is conferred by paragraph (3) above.

Decisions as to validity of nomination papersU.K.

12(1)Where a nomination paper and the candidate’s consent to it are delivered and a deposit is made in accordance with these rules, the candidate shall be deemed to stand nominated unless and until—

(a)the returning officer decides that the nomination paper is invalid; or

(b)proof is given to the returning officer’s satisfaction of the candidate’s death; or

(c)the candidate withdraws.

(2)The returning officer is entitled to hold a nomination paper invalid only on one of the following grounds—

(a)that the particulars of the candidate or the persons subscribing the paper are not as required by law;

(b)that the paper is not subscribed as so required; and

(c)that the candidate is disqualified by the Representation of the M2People Act 1981.

(3)The returning officer shall give his decision on any objection to a nomination paper as soon as practicable after it is made.

(4)Where he decides that a nomination paper is invalid, he shall endorse and sign on the paper the fact and the reasons for his decision.

(5)The returning officer’s decision that a nomination paper is valid shall be final and shall not be questioned in any proceeding whatsoever.

(6)Subject to paragraph (5) above nothing in this rule prevents the validity of a nomination being questioned on an election petition.

Withdrawal of candidatesU.K.

13(1)A candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice of withdrawal—U.K.

(a)signed by him and attested by one witness, and

(b)delivered to the returning officer at the place for delivery of nomination papers.

(2)Where a candidate is outside the United Kingdom, a notice of withdrawal signed by his proposer and accompanied by a written declaration also so signed of the candidate’s absence from the United Kingdom shall be of the same effect as a notice of withdrawal signed by the candidate; but where the candidate stands nominated by more than one nomination paper a notice of withdrawal under this paragraph shall be effective if, and only if—

(a)it and the accompanying declaration are signed by all the proposers except any who is, and is stated in that declaration to be, outside the United Kingdom; or

(b)it is accompanied, in addition to that declaration, by a written statement signed by the candidate that the proposer giving the notice is authorised to do so on the candidate’s behalf during his absence from the United Kingdom.

Publication of statement of persons nominatedU.K.

14(1)The returning officer shall prepare and publish a statement showing the persons who have been and stand nominated and any other persons who have been nominated, with the reason why they no longer stand nominated.

(2)The statement shall show the names, addresses and descriptions of the persons nominated as given in their nomination papers, together with the names of the persons subscribing those papers.

(3)The statement shall show the persons standing nominated arranged alphabetically in the order of their surnames, and, if there are two or more of them with the same surname, of their other names.

(4)In the case of a person nominated by more than one nomination paper, the returning officer shall take the particulars required by the foregoing provisions of this rule from such one of the papers as the candidate (or the returning officer in default of the candidate) may select, but if the election is contested a candidate standing nominated may require the returning officer to include in the statement the names of the persons subscribing a second and third nomination.

Disqualification by Representation of the People Act 1981U.K.

15(1)If it appears to the returning officer that any of the persons nominated might be disqualified by the Representation of the M3People Act 1981 he shall, as soon as practicable after the expiry of the time allowed for the delivery of nomination papers, prepare and publish a draft of the statement required under rule 14 above.U.K.

(2)The draft shall be headed “Draft statement of persons nominated” and shall omit the names of the persons subscribing the papers but shall contain a notice stating that any person who wishes to object to the nomination of any candidate on the ground that he is disqualified for nomination under the Representation of the People Act 1981 may do so between the hours of 10 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon on the day and at the place specified in the notice; and the day so specified shall be the day next after the last day for the delivery of nomination papers.

Adjournment of nomination proceedings in case of riotU.K.

16(1)Where the proceedings for or in connection with nomination are on any day interrupted or obstructed by riot or open violence—U.K.

(a)the proceedings shall be abandoned for that day, and

(b)if that day is the last day for the delivery of nomination papers, the proceedings shall be continued on the next day as if that were the last day of such delivery,

and that day shall be treated for the purposes of these rules as being the last day for such delivery (subject to any further application of this rule in the event of interruption or obstruction on that day).

(2)Where proceedings are abandoned by virtue of this rule nothing—

(a)may be done after they are continued if the time for doing it had passed at the time of the abandonment;

(b)done before the abandonment shall be invalidated by reason of the abandonment.

Method of electionU.K.

17(1)If the statement of persons nominated shows more than one person standing nominated, a poll shall be taken in accordance with Part III of these rules.U.K.

(2)If the statement of persons nominated shows only one person standing nominated, that person shall be declared to be elected in accordance with Part IV of these rules.