The Alleged Incapacities of Mr Sheridan

This short paper inquires into the grounds on which candidates and sitting members may be disqualified from the House of Commons and also the devolved legislatures. Starting from the inaccurate reporting of the sentencing for three years imprisonment of the former MSP Tommy Sheridan, the paper argues that current law on this question is arcane and fragmented. Quite apart from its substantive merits, the UK’s regime is incompatible with the goal of citizens understanding who they can and cannot select to represent them.