E-petition debate: Give the British Public the Right to Vote No Confidence in the Government

E-petition 734311

E-petition 734311 called for the public to be given the right to vote no confidence in the government:

We call on Parliament to pass a law giving the British public the power to trigger a vote of no confidence in the ruling government.

Currently, only MPs can do this. We believe the public should also have the democratic right to express when they’ve lost trust in those elected to lead.

The e-petition was open for signatures for six months. It closed on 6 February 2026. It attracted 120,817 signatures.

The Petitions Committee considers whether all e-petitions that reach 100,000 signatures should be debated. At its meeting on 27 January 2026, the committee decided that the e-petition should be debated on 2 March 2026.

The UK Government responds to e-petitions that reach 10,000 signatures. The government’s response was published on the petition’s page on 4 September 2025. It said:

The Government holds office by virtue of being able to command the confidence of the House of Commons, whose members are elected by the public. There are no plans to change these arrangements.

How is confidence in the government determined?

A core constitutional principle is that the government of the day draws its authority by virtue of its ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons.

Confidence can be tested in two ways in the House of Commons.

First, a motion expressing no confidence can be tabled. Erskine May, the authoritative guide to parliamentary practice, states that “by established convention”, the government accedes to a motion of no confidence tabled by the Leader of the Opposition and finds time for it to be debated.

Second, the government can decide that a specific vote in the House of Commons is a “confidence matter”. It follows that if the government were defeated on the question, the House has no confidence in the government.

If a confidence motion is lost, the government could resign in favour of a different administration, or the Prime Minister could request a dissolution and general election.

For more information, see the House of Commons Library research briefing on Confidence motions.

Timing of general elections

The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 provides that Parliament can be dissolved by the King. By convention, the King dissolves Parliament following a request from the Prime Minister.

If the Prime Minister does not request a dissolution within five years of the first meeting of a Parliament, Parliament is automatically dissolved on the fifth anniversary of that meeting.

How could the public express no confidence in a government?

The e-petition does not suggest a mechanism to allow the public to express no confidence.

When the House of Commons considered legislation on recalling individual MPs, it ruled out a system that allowed voters to initiate a recall process. The legislation includes three defined triggers relating to the conduct of individual MPs (see the Recall of MPs Act 2015). Such triggers would not apply to the public perception of government, which suggests any legislation to allow the public a right to vote no confidence in the government would require a process that allows the public to initiate the vote. On a national scale this could imply a national vote to determine whether the public has confidence in the government.