Nomination criteria
To stand as a candidate in the Mayoral elections you must meet
certain criteria. You must be 18 years old or over when nominations
open on 18 March 2008, and a citizen of the UK, European Union or
Commonwealth.
You must also be registered to vote
in London or have lived, worked, rented or owned property in London
for the last 12 months.
How to apply
If you decide to stand as a candidate for Mayor of London and
you meet the criteria, you have to complete a nomination form and a
signed and witnessed ‘Consent to Nomination’ form. Both can be
obtained from the GLRO by contacting London Elects.
As well as the forms, you need to get 330 signatures from people
on the electoral register supporting your nomination: 10 from each
London borough and from the City of London. You will also have to
pay a deposit of £10,000, which is returned if you get more than 5%
of first choice votes in the election.
If you are standing as a candidate for a registered political
party, you must have a certificate from the party. If you want to
use the party’s emblem on the ballot paper you must submit a signed
request. A candidate not standing for a registered political party
can either use the description ‘Independent’ or have no
description.
You must submit the forms, deposit and signatures to the GLRO
between 18 March 2008 – when the Notice of Election is published –
and 12pm on 28 March 2008, when nominations close.
Nomination packs and guidance are available from London Elects
now.
Mayoral address booklet
Candidates can have an "address" – or mini-manifesto – published
in the Mayoral Address Booklet, which is
sent to all registered voters in London before election day. If, as
a candidate, you would like to be included in the booklet, you have
to contribute £10,000 towards the cost of printing and distributing
the booklet. This is non-refundable.
Candidates' expenditure
Candidates are limited to spending no more than £420,000 on
their election campaigns. This covers:
- Party political broadcasts
- Advertising
- Unsolicited material distributed to voters
- Party manifestos
- Market research
- Press conferences and media
- Transport during the campaign
- Rallies and other events
Expenses are counted from the 18 March 2008 and candidates must
submit their expenses to the Greater London Returning Officer
(GLRO) no later than 70 days after the result of the election
has been declared.
More details
You can find full details on the necessary qualifications for
standing as Mayor of London in
section 20 of the Greater London Authority (GLA) Act 1999. More
details about candidates' expenditure are in the
Representation of the People Act 1983, as amended by the
Electoral Administration Act 2006.