Representation of the People Bill

The Bill (originally Bill 384) was introduced in the Commons on 12 February 2026 1 alongside Explanatory Notes 2, an Impact Assessment 3, an ECHR Memorandum 4 and a Delegated Powers Memorandum 5. Second Reading on 2 March 2026 6 saw the Government carry the Bill against a Conservative reasoned amendment moved by Sir James Cleverly that objected to votes at 16, automated registration, the absence of the Rycroft review and the lack of pre-introduction consultation with political parties 7. The Public Bill Committee, chaired by Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Dame Siobhain McDonagh, David Mundell and Sir Desmond Swayne, ran nine sittings between 18 March and 16 April 2026 8, taking written evidence from over 50 organisations including the Electoral Reform Society 9, Spotlight on Corruption 10, RUSI 11, the Jo Cox Foundation 12, the Electoral Management Boards for Scotland 13 and Wales 14, the Children's Commissioner 15, the LGA 16 and the AEA 17. The Bill was reprinted as Bill 418 (as amended in Committee) on 27 April 2026 18. Notices of amendments for Report stage have been tabled daily through to 30 April 2026 19, with Commons Report and Third Reading expected imminently. The Government has written to the devolved legislatures to begin legislative consent 7.

The most material recent development is the conclusion of Public Bill Committee on 16 April 2026 1 and the publication of Bill 418 as amended on 27 April 2026 2. The cumulative weight of written evidence over the PBC phase has crystallised three pressure points likely to dominate Report stage: (i) the design of the UK-connection test for corporate donors, with Spotlight on Corruption 3 and the Liberal Democrats arguing the revenue test 4 should be replaced by a profit test; (ii) whether to legislate now against cryptocurrency donations, flagged by Emily Thornberry at Second Reading and to which the Secretary of State committed to return through Rycroft-driven amendments 4; and (iii) the deliverability and fairness of phased automated registration, a sustained Opposition concern about pre-general-election uneven roll-out 4. Eight Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy recommendations on AI-generated content and disinformation and on foreign interference are also pending Government response. Notices of amendments for Report were running daily as at 30 April 2026 5.

The Report stage will turn on whether the Government tables its own amendments on (a) cryptocurrency donations, (b) the UK-connection test, and (c) any provisions emerging from the Rycroft review on foreign interference — to all of which the Secretary of State committed at Second Reading 1. The Bill's compliance with the Delegated Powers Memorandum 2 is likely to be tested by the Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee once the Bill reaches the second chamber. Three operational dependencies need to be watched in parallel. First, the phased roll-out of automated registration: which areas will pilot it, and whether the pilots will be complete before the next general election — this also has consequences for the next Boundary Commission review, which will use whichever register is in force on the relevant date. Second, the implementation of the £500,000 maximum Electoral Commission fine, which the Government has signalled will be set through secondary legislation rather than on the face of the Bill 1. Third, the devolved consent process: Scotland and Wales already have 16+ voting for devolved elections and the parallel Welsh Order 2026/82 on candidate security expenses shows that even narrow electoral SIs are now flowing through the devolved track. Implementation timelines in Northern Ireland, with its separate Electoral Office, also require funding clarity, as Sorcha Eastwood pressed at Second Reading 1. Finally, Members will be watching whether the new electoral sanction for intimidation of election staff dovetails cleanly with the existing Recall of MPs Act 2015 triggers or creates fresh anomalies on retrospectivity.

The Rycroft review on foreign interference is the largest known unknown: the Bill has been introduced before the review has reported and the Government has committed to incorporating its recommendations during passage 1, so a substantive amendment package can be expected. Inferred from corpus gap: the Government's response to written evidence and the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee report on the Bill are not yet in the retrieved corpus, both of which would normally precede Lords stages. Inferred from corpus gap: detailed PBC Hansard for most of the nine sittings is in the candidates list but not yet linked, limiting the granularity with which individual MP positions can be characterised. The interaction between the new intimidation electoral sanction and the Recall of MPs Act 2015 triggers as recently amended by Standing Order changes is unsettled and may be the subject of further amendment in the Lords.