"Recall" Policy

The principle of "Recall" has long been accepted by the Green Party, but in Bristol we now have our first detailed policy explaining how it would work.  It was adopted by the Bristol Green Parties in January 2010:

RECALL POLICY

Our local candidates must be willing, if elected, to respect any valid 'recall' petition.

By 'recall' we mean that a person elected to public office would resign in the event that a petition was raised by 20% or more of the electorate, within a period of six months or less prior to presentation of the petition, calling for their resignation.

Such a petition would have to be initiated by one or more named electors and include the reasons for demanding a recall, and to be verifiable (eg by random sampling that signatures are genuine) by a neutral third party, at the expense of the promoter. It should be raised without public expense.

In the by-election called to fill the vacancy created by the resignation, the candidate is free to seek the Green nomination and, if selected, to stand again as Green Party candidate in the ensuing by-election.

The recall procedure need not be exercised if the petition is presented within nine months of the beginning or end of the term of office.

Link to covering press release