An election petition is a petition challenging the result of an election to a United Kingdom Parliament constituency. The following table lists petitions which were tabled.
History The first recorded petition challenging an election result was brought by Matthew de Cranthorn in 1318, claiming the sheriff of Devon had made a false return in the county election. From 1318 until 1483 there were very few cases of elections being challenged. Following more boroughs being permitted to return Members of Parliament in the Elizabethan era, challenges were more common, and they peaked with dozens of petitions coming about following the 1865 election.
Initially, petitions were dealt with either by the whole house or ad hoc committees. There were periods where the role was shifted to a defined committee, including the Privileged Committee, but this power went back and forth.
The Elections Petitions Act 1839 abolished the previous committee system, and implemented a new, 6-strong 'General Committee of Elections' appointed by the Speaker of the House. Over the next few decades, this committee had its role strengthened to make it more impartial and expand the allegations to include bribery charges.
The Parliamentary Elections Act 1868 transferred the jurisdiction for considering petitions from the House of Commons to the law courts. The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883 substantially altered and strengthened the law in respect of election offences. The current governing law is the Representation of the People Act 1983.
A large number of petitions were held in the Victorian and Georgian periods, when elections were considered 'notoriously corrupt'. By the 1920s, election results were very rarely subject to petitions.
Results of a petition There are four possible outcomes of a petition trial, named as follows: : The court upheld the election, and declared the sitting Member the rightful winner. : The court found that the person who was elected had not won the election, but that another candidate had the majority of lawful votes, and therefore declared the other candidate elected. : The court found that the election had not been conducted fairly, and annulled the result, meaning that the seat was vacant. Typically a by-election ensued, which is linked from the result. Exceptions, which are noted, were where "general and notorious bribery and corruption" in a borough constituency impelled the House to refuse to move a by-election writ (and in extreme cases to disfranchise the borough, with its territory subsumed into the surrounding county constituency).Erskine May: 25th ed. ¶2.25, n. 2; 20th ed. pp. 35–36; 17th ed. pp. 188–189 : The judges allowed the petitioner to withdraw the case, and the election result stood. A petitioner might do so to save the expense of further proceedings if the likelihood of victory was small. As petitioners might be induced to withdraw a petition by a further act of corruption, the judges had to give permission on the basis that they were satisfied no corrupt consideration was involved.
Petitions tabled (1832–1868) The following table lists the number of petitions tabled by their outcome between the 1832 general election, and the passing of the Parliamentary Elections Act 1868. The first column lists the election or by-elections the petitions correspond to. By-election figures are italicised. Corresponding election(s) Total petitionsDuly electedUndue electionVoid electionWithdrawn 1832 general election482310781832–34 parliament by-elections631111835 general election34975131835–37 parliament by-elections1044021837 general election8540131311837–41 parliament by-elections18102511841 general election72111411361841–47 parliament by-elections2062481847 general election5111117221847–52 parliament by-elections21416101852 general election12229231601852–57 parliament by-elections27714151857 general election722418391857–59 parliament by-elections300121859 general election6023011261859–65 parliament by-elections20612111865 general election6919214341865–68 parliament by-elections82123Source: F.W.S Craig
Petitions tried (1868–1910) The following table lists petitions tried following the passing of the Parliamentary Elections Act 1868 until 1910.
Glossary (by columns) Allegation 'Bribery, etc.' : It was routine for election petitions in the 19th century brought on grounds of bribery also to make accusations of treating and undue influence.Helmore 1967 p. 27 Some petitions were apparently written using boilerplate text. Personation: One person knowingly voting in the name of another.Helmore 1967 p. 29 Scrutiny of votes: A process where the votes were recounted, the eligibility of each voter was checked, and ineligible votes struck off.Helmore 1967 p. 32 Treating: The act of giving free food and drink with intent to persuade the recipient to vote for a particular candidate.Helmore 1967 p. 28 Undue influence: Any attempt to win votes by threats. Result See above. This is also denoted by the colour of the corresponding row. Details Agent: Anyone acting directly or indirectly on behalf of the candidates; not merely the designated election agent but anyone employed by the candidate. Many cases turned on whether a person proved to have carried out illegal activity was an agent (voiding the election) or was acting independently. Recriminatory case: Where a petition was presented by a defeated candidate claiming to have been the rightful winner (and not that the election be declared void), it was open to the Respondent to bring forward accusations against their election campaign. Relief: If certain aspects of election law have been broken through inadvertence, it is possible for those involved to be relieved from the consequences of breaking the law. The effect of relief is as if the breach of the law never occurred.Helmore 1967 pp. 31–32 Special case: Where the dispute in an election petition concerned a question of law and not the facts, it was referred to three Judges of the High Court of Justice (England and Wales), the Court of Session (Scotland), or the High Court of Justice in Ireland and its successor the High Court of Northern Ireland.
Table of petitions