Editing Paper candidate (section)

== United Kingdom ==

In the United Kingdom, major parties often find it difficult to field a full list of candidates for all council seats up for election, especially in the case of councils with "all-up" elections. Parties find it desirable to persuade people to stand as paper candidates so that:

* Supporters have an opportunity to vote for the party
* The total vote obtained across the council and the nation is maximised
* All seats are contested so there is no risk that candidates from other parties can be declared elected unopposed

In Britain, being nominated as a local election candidate simply involves signing some forms, with no deposit required. A paper candidate will often do no campaigning at all and so be able to submit a zero return of election expenses, simplifying the paperwork for the election agent. Paper candidates are commonly fielded in different locations by all the major parties in both local and national elections.

Some paper candidates stand in order to help their party but do not wish to be elected to the post in question. In fact, some paper candidates only agree to stand after receiving assurances that there is no "risk" of them getting elected. Following the [[Scottish National Party]]'s landslide in Scotland in the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]], when they went from 6 to 56 seats (out of 59 Scottish seats), it was reported that some candidates were so surprised at winning they considered resigning immediately after the election.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leask|first1=David|title=Accidental MPs? Labour's Brian Donohoe says some SNP candidates nearly quit when they were elected by surprise|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14183215.Accidental_MPs__Labour_s_Brian_Donohoe_says_some_SNP_candidates_nearly_quit_when_they_were_elected_by_surprise/|accessdate=7 January 2016|work=Glasgow Herald|date=6 January 2016}}</ref> In the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]], some Conservative candidates were selected just weeks prior to the election and won seats in the Labour "[[Red wall (British politics)|red wall]]" in northern England and Wales, which were previously considered unwinnable by the party.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/i-want-people-to-know-im-a-tory-and-im-ok-j2zc2xtxx|title=I want people to know I'm a Tory and I'm OK|first=Virginia|last=Crosbie|date=12 June 2023 |via=www.thetimes.co.uk}}</ref> After joining [[Reform UK]] in 2024, [[James McMurdock]] won [[South Basildon and East Thurrock]] in [[2024 United Kingdom general election|that year's general election]] after the party—without enough people to run for available seats—asked him to serve as a paper candidate.<ref name="bird20240706">{{Cite news |last=Bird |first=Steve |date=2024-07-06 |title=James McMurdock – the new Reform MP who only joined the party in May |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/07/06/james-mcmurdock-new-reform-mp/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

In [[Belfast North (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast North]] at the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 election]], the [[Social Democratic and Labour Party]] (SDLP) were criticised for standing Martin McAuley as a "paper candidate" — a deliberately weak candidate, a 26-year-old with little experience, on the assumption that [[Irish nationalism|nationalist]] and [[Irish Catholic|Catholic]] voters would instead vote for [[Sinn Féin]], instead of the [[unionism in Ireland|unionist]] candidate [[Nigel Dodds]] ([[Democratic Unionist Party|DUP]]). McAuley rejected the label of "paper candidate".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/news/2017/05/12/news/martin-mcauley-rubbishes-paper-candidate-claim-1024040/|title=Martin McAuley rubbishes 'paper candidate' claim|first=John|last=Manley|date=12 May 2017|website=The Irish News}}</ref> Dodds narrowly won the election. In [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019]], the SDLP did not field a candidate in Belfast North and Sinn Féin won the seat.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/newton-emerson-tribal-solidarity-trumps-all-in-north-belfast-1.4074444|title=Newton Emerson: Tribal solidarity trumps all in North Belfast|first=Newton|last=Emerson|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2017/north-belfast-sdlp-denies-giving-sinn-feins-finucane-free-run-im-no-paper-candidate-says-mcauley-35702539.html|title=North Belfast: SDLP denies giving Sinn Fein's Finucane free run - I'm no paper candidate, says McAuley|newspaper=Belfasttelegraph.co.uk |date=11 May 2017 |via=www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk}}</ref> The SDLP were also accused of standing a "paper candidate," Mary Garrity, in [[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]] in 2017, in order to help Sinn Féin win the seat from the UUP.<ref name="auto"/>