Representation of the People Act 1983

Representation of the People Act 1983
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to consolidate the Representation of the People Acts of 1949, 1969, 1977, 1978 and 1980, the Electoral Registers Acts of 1949 and 1953, the Elections (Welsh Forms) Act 1964, Part III of the Local Government Act 1972, sections 6 to 10 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the Representation of the People (Armed Forces) Act 1976, the Returning Officers (Scotland) Act 1977, section 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1981, section 62 of and Schedule 2 to the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1982, and connected provisions; and to repeal as obsolete the Representation of the People Act 1979 and other enactments related to the Representation of the People Acts.
Citation1983 c. 2
Territorial extent United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent8 February 1983
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes
Amended by
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Representation of the People Act 1983 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways:[1]

  • Amended the Representation of the People Act 1969.
  • Stated that a convicted person cannot vote at any parliamentary or local election whilst in prison.
  • Laid down the appeals process in local elections

The Act also regulates how political parties and people acting on their behalf are to behave before and during an election.