CA-2025-002307 - [2025] EWCA Civ 1378

The Parliamentary elections rules

Section 23 of the 1983 Act stipulates that the proceedings at a Parliamentary election are to be conducted in accordance with the Parliamentary elections rules in schedule 1 to the Act.

Those rules require a nomination paper to be accompanied by a “home address form” giving the candidate’s home address in full: rule 6(4). Subject to exceptions, 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, among other things, “a person standing nominated as a candidate”: rule 11(1). By rule 11(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 and associated home address form”.

Rule 50(1) of the Parliamentary elections rules provides:

“In a contested election, when the result of the poll has been ascertained, the returning officer shall forthwith—

declare to be elected the candidate to whom the majority of votes has been given;

return his name to the Clerk of the Crown; and

give public notice of his name and of the total number of votes given for each candidate together with the number of rejected ballot papers under each head shown in the statement of rejected ballot papers.”

Rule 51(1) of the Parliamentary elections rules requires the returning officer to “return the name of the member elected by endorsing on the writ a certificate in the form in the Appendix”. By rule 51(3), the returning officer “may, on receiving a receipt, deliver the writ with the certificate endorsed on it to an official designated for that purpose by a universal postal service provider who is providing a universal postal service (within the meaning of Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011) for the area in which the election is being held or to his deputy, provided that the official or deputy is at that time within the area concerned”. By rule 51(4), the designated official or his deputy is to “send the writ so endorsed by the first post, free of charge, under cover to the Clerk of the Crown with the words ‘Election Writ and Return’ endorsed on it”.

Rule 52 of the Parliamentary elections rules provides:

The Clerk of the Crown shall from the certificate on each writ returned to him enter the name of the member returned in a book to be kept by him at the Crown Office.

…

The book shall be open to public inspection at reasonable times and any person may, on payment of a reasonable fee, take copies from the book.”

Rule 53A deals with destruction of home address forms. It states:

“The returning officer shall destroy each candidate’s home address form—

on the next working day following the 21st day after the officer has returned the name of the member elected; or

if an election petition questioning the election or return is presented before that day, on the next working day following the conclusion of proceedings on the petition or on appeal from such proceedings.”