People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland

Candidates must be nominated by ten parliamentary electors of the constituency they wish to stand in.

Authorisation is required to stand for a specific party, otherwise candidates will be described as independent or have no description.

In order to encourage only serious candidates to stand, a £500 deposit is required when submitting the nomination papers - returned if the candidate receives over five per cent of the total votes cast.

Certain people are disqualified from standing as an MP - please check the Electoral Commission website for further details.