What are the qualifications of a parliamentary candidate?

In the UK the process is as follows, provided you are resident in the UK, a British or Irish citizen, over the age of 18, not a bankrupt, lunatic, convicted prisoner, peer or state employee If you want to win a parliamentary seat;- 1) Join a political party. Get approved as a parliamentary candidate by HQ. Apply for a constituency. Many local parties will have hustings where you get voted on by the local party membership. 2)When the election writ is served, posters will go up in the constituency headed 'parliamentary election' You will have to pay a deposit of £500 to the returning officer (refundable if you get 5% of the vote) and collect some signatures of registered voters. If you are standing for a political party you will have an election agent who will deal with the legal side of things. 3) In the poll you will have to gain 1 more vote than the next candidate, and then you've won!