MPs will need to pass an enhanced DBS check to stand for election under plans welcomed by the GMB union and Labour backbenchers today.

Labour MP for Milton Keynes Central Emily Darlington said that that parliamentarians should be subject to the same safeguarding thresholds as NHS staff, teachers, carers and social workers.

The changes may be proposed as part of an amendment to the Elections Bill that is expected early in the new year.

A spokesman for GMB London said that it believes the status quo, which allows candidates who have been convicted of violent and sexual offences to stand for office, presents safeguarding risks and jeopardises public confidence in elected representatives.

Senior parliamentary researcher Lisa Gillmore, who is president of the GMB branch for MPs’ and peers’ staff, said: “This is a positive change that will lead to better MPs and better protected workplaces across Parliament and constituency offices.

“If you are not able to pass the same safety check that doctors, social workers or teachers do, then it is only right that you should not be able to run for Parliament.”

Currently, prospective parliamentary candidates can stand even if they have a criminal record or appear on sex offender lists. 

They are only debarred if they have served a prison term of more than 12 months, have been convicted of corruption or, in some cases, have been made bankrupt. 

Reform UK candidate James McMurdock’s conviction for assaulting his girlfriend 18 years previously was only revealed after he had won a parliamentary seat in last year’s general election.

Mr McMurdock, who had joined the party just two months before the election, now sits as a independent.