MPs involved in scandals or convicted of lesser crimes could be expelled from their party and pressured to resign, but there was no mechanism to force the exit of an MP prior to a general election.
[6] Following the election and the coalition government's commitment, Zac Goldsmith introduced a series of private members bills for a recall process, none of which were successful.
[7][8][9] In June 2012, the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee published its reports into the recall process, listing twenty conclusions and recommendations which included the views that "a system of full recall may deter MPs from taking decisions that are unpopular locally or unpopular in the short-term, but which are in the long-term national interest", "[w]e note that expulsion would not prevent the person concerned standing in the resulting by-election.
[11] Labour MP Frank Dobson opposed recall as a threat to "hinder social progress" by "vested interests".
[12] Opponents of the process further worried that MPs "in fear" of being recalled would increase the number of "automatons and lobby fodder" in the Commons.
[13] Section 1 sets out the circumstances in which the Speaker of the House of Commons – or, in certain cases, their deputies – would trigger the recall process: Sections 7–11 outline the procedure whereby the petition is forwarded by the electoral returning officer for the constituency to the MP's constituents for ratification, approval by 10 per cent of the registered electors triggering the loss of the MP's seat and a by-election.
Sections 16–22 make further provisions, including prohibiting forecasts of the outcome of active recall petitions which are based on statements from or surveys of potential signatories.
They found that the three petitions had been carried out effectively and there were no significant problems or indications of fraud, but they identified a number of practical challenges linked to the availability of signing places, the length of the recall period, and the transparency of the process.