The Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016

Proxies at petitions U.K.

57.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, any person is capable of being appointed proxy to sign a petition for another (the person appointing the proxy is referred to in this regulation and regulation 58 as “the appointer”).

(2) The appointer cannot have more than one person at a time appointed as proxy to sign a petition for him or her.

(3) A person is not capable of being appointed to sign a petition as proxy if the person—

(a) is subject to any legal incapacity (age apart) to sign a petition as an elector, and

(b) is neither a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.

(4) A person is not capable of signing a petition as proxy unless before the end of the signing period for that petition the person has attained the age of 18; but such a person may sign the petition during the signing period notwithstanding that they may have not attained the age of 18 on the day they sign the petition.

(5) A person is not entitled to sign any one petition as proxy on behalf of more than two persons to whom that person is not related.

(6) Where the appointer applies to the registration officer for the appointment of a proxy to sign the petition for him or her (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application), the registration officer must make the appointment if the application meets the requirements of Chapter 2 of this Part and the registration officer is satisfied that the appointer—

(a) is or will be entitled to sign the petition by virtue of section 10 of the Act;

(b) is or will be shown in the record kept under regulation 51(4) above as being eligible to sign the petition by proxy or (as the case may be) in the record kept under paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 4 as entitled to vote by proxy and the proxy is capable of being, and willing to be, appointed to sign the petition as proxy; and

(c) has not signed the petition at the petition signing place allotted to them under regulation 16.

(7) Where the appointer applies to the registration officer for the appointment of a proxy to sign the petition for him or her at a particular petition the registration officer must make the appointment if the application meets the requirements set out in Chapter 2 of this Part and the registration officer is satisfied that the appointer—

(a) is or will be entitled to sign the petition by virtue of section 10 of the Act;

(b) is or will be eligible to sign the petition by proxy by virtue of an application under regulation 53(2) and (3) and that the proxy is capable of being, and willing to be, appointed to sign the petition as proxy; and

(c) has not signed the petition at the petition signing place allotted to the appointer under regulation 16 (allotment of petition signing place).

(8) The appointment of a proxy under this regulation must be made by means of a proxy paper issued by the registration officer in the form set out in Form J in Schedule 2.

(9) The appointment may be cancelled by the appointer by giving notice to the registration officer.

(10) The appointment also ceases to be in force—

(a) on the issue of a proxy paper appointing a different person to sign the petition for the appointer;

(b) where the appointment was for a definite period, once that period expires, unless the proxy is entitled to sign the petition by post in which case that period is deemed to continue until the end of the signing period for the purposes of signing the petition.

(11) Subject to paragraphs (9) and (10), the appointment remains in force—

(a) in the case of an appointment for a particular petition, for that petition;

(b) in any other case, while the appointer is shown in the record kept under regulation 51(4) as being entitled to sign the petition by proxy or (as the case may be) in the record kept under paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 4 as entitled to vote by proxy.

(12) In respect of petitions in Northern Ireland, the application of this regulation is modified as follows—

(a) for references to “regulation 51(4)” substitute “regulation 52(5)”;

(b) for references to “regulation 53(2)” substitute “regulation 54(1)”;

(c) for references to “paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 4” substitute “section 6(3) of the 1985 Act”.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 57 in force at 4.3.2016, see reg. 1