London mayoral election, 2008
Encyclopedia
The London
mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London
was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party
candidate Boris Johnson
.
It was the third London mayoral election, the previous elections being the first election
in May 2000 and the second election
in June 2004.
Boris Johnson became the second Mayor of London and the first Conservative to hold the office since its creation in 2000.
On 3 May 2007 the Labour Party
announced Ken Livingstone
, the incumbent
mayor, had been selected as their mayoral candidate. The announcement was made following consultations with London Labour Party members.
was announced as the Conservative candidate, having received 75% of the vote in an election open to the entire London electorate.
The primary election
was originally to be held in October 2006. Candidates who applied by the 4 August deadline included Richard Barnes, London Assembly
member for Ealing and Hillingdon
, who withdrew in July 2007 and announced his support for Boris Johnson
; Andrew Boff
, former Hillingdon
and Hackney London Borough Council
lor; Nicholas Boles
, Policy Exchange
think-tank director, who withdrew in July 2007 for health reasons; Dr Robert Frew, a cultural policy and management specialist; Victoria Borwick
, Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council
lor; Warwick Lightfoot, also a Kensington and Chelsea councillor; and Lee Rotherham. Steven Norris
, Conservative mayoral candidate in 2000 and 2004, ruled himself out. Broadcaster Nick Ferrari
also ruled himself out, having considered seeking the nomination.
Come the 4 August 2006 deadline, however, Conservative Party Chairman Francis Maude
announced the process was being delayed for six months to allow time for further candidates to submit applications. Prospective applicants who subsequently publicly declared were Lurline Champagnie
, a London Borough of Harrow
councillor; Winston McKenzie
, a former boxer; and disc jockey Mike Read
. Read withdrew in July 2007 following a change in the voting system for Conservative candidates, giving his support to Johnson.
In April 2007 the Conservative party confirmed it had approached former Director-General of the BBC
Greg Dyke
. Dyke stated he would not stand except on a joint ticket with the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats stated this would be against its party's constitution. Around this point former Conservative Prime Minister
Sir John Major
was considered a possible candidate, but he turned down an offer from David Cameron
.
Following media and members' criticism over the party's selection procedure, the party chairman announced a revised timetable requiring a candidate to be in place before the party conference at the end of September 2007. In June 2007, the party published a detailed timetable confirming that the result of the selection process would be announced at 10 a.m. on 27 September 2007.
On 16 July, shortly before the noon deadline for nominations, Johnson confirmed he would seek the Conservative nomination. A final four of Johnson, Boff, Borwick and Lightfoot were chosen on 21 July for the primary election, which Johnson won.
The Liberal Democrat candidate was former police chief Brian Paddick
. The party drew up a shortlist in September 2007 with a final choice made by a one member, one vote
ballot of party members. Simon Hughes
, the party's 2004 mayoral candidate, did not stand. On 13 November 2007 it was announced Paddick had been selected from the shortlist, defeating Chamali Fernando and Councillor Fiyaz Mughal.
as its mayoral candidate in a ballot of its London members, receiving 45% of the vote. The other candidates were Shahrar Ali, Shane Collins, Katie Dawson
and Terry McGrenera. Berry is also one of their Assembly candidates.
announced that Richard Barnbrook
, leader of the opposition on Barking & Dagenham Borough Council
, and a member of the party's National Advisory Committee, had been selected to stand for election in 2008.
(UKIP) 2007 party conference, Gerard Batten
who is the UKIP MEP for the London region was selected to contest the London Mayoral Election.
In October 2006, UKIP announced that talkSPORT
presenter James Whale
might stand against Ken Livingstone in the 2008 election. The government's media authority Ofcom
told Whale that becoming Mayor would prevent him from continuing his radio show. Whale subsequently stated on his programme he would not be the UKIP candidate, but he did not rule out standing for election.
told the BBC that he intended to stand for Mayor of London as an independent on an anti-gang crime platform, having failed to secure the Conservative nomination earlier in the year.
-led faction (also referred to as Respect Renewal
) retained the rights to the use of the name in elections, as Linda Smith was registered as party leader with the Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
. The Socialist Workers Party
dominated faction put forward Lindsey German
under the Left List
banner. Galloway's faction did not put forward a candidate, but Galloway declared his support for Ken Livingstone.
presenter Garry Bushell
had been nominated as a candidate to stand against Ken Livingstone in the 2008 election. In January 2008 Garry Bushell stepped aside (due to work commitments) in favour of Fathers-4-Justice Campaigner Matt O'Connor
, who successfully stood against Andrew Constantine, a City of London Banker, in a selection contest. O'Connor is also their last London-wide list Assembly candidate. O'Connor withdrew on the 25th April, after he fell out with the party over leadership, campaign funding and tactics.
was selected by the Christian Choice Party to stand in the Mayoral election. The Christian Choice Party are an alliance between the Christian Party and The Christian People's Alliance.
Party announced that their leader, Damian Hockney
, would be their candidate in 2008 but on 27 March 2008 Hockney withdrew from the mayoral race. He blamed a lack of media opportunities for smaller parties such as his, and claimed the race was "a media election, fought just in the media".
, would seek the Conservative nomination, he announced that he would stand as an independent, on a platform of "social inclusion". In October 2007, he withdrew from the race and instead promised to launch a new social movement around tackling poverty.
but pulled out of the mayoral race shortly before the close of nominations.
On 21 February 2008 Dennis Delderfield announced he would stand for the New Britain Party
. He said he would abolish the Mayoral office and the GLA
. He did not submit a valid nomination.
John Flunder was to be the Senior Citizens Party candidate for Mayor of London but did not submit a valid nomination.
LondonElectsYou.co.uk, a social networking site aimed at selecting a member of the public to contest the election with a £50,000 campaign budget, was set up in March 2008. The winning candidate did not submit any nomination however, with the site's founder David Smuts claiming that electoral authorities' bureaucratic obstructions failed to get them the required access to the electoral register to validate their nomination.
In April 2007 Richard Fairbrass
, the lead singer of pop band Right Said Fred
, announced that he may stand for Mayor of London on a platform of opposition to the London congestion charge
.
In December 2007 peace protester Brian Haw
was reported to have announced his intention to stand for Mayor of London as "the only Pro Peace candidate" but nothing to support this appeared on his website.
The Supplementary Vote system is used for all mayoral elections in England and Wales
. Under this system voters express a first choice and (optionally) a second choice. If no candidate receives 50% of first choice votes, the top two candidates go to a second round. Voters whose first choice has been eliminated but whose second choice is one of the top two candidates have their second preference vote added to the first-round totals for the leading candidates. This gives a result whereby the winning candidate may be able to claim majority support, although it is not guaranteed.
Votes were counted using an optical scan voting system
, where a computer scans the ballot papers and registers the votes. A digital image of the ballot paper was also taken so if there were problems with any of the papers, they could be examined by humans. In 2008, due to the large turnout, the counting took over 15 hours. However, if counted manually the process could - according to London Elects - take up to 3 days. Election observers have declared "there is insufficient evidence available to allow independent observers to state reliably whether the results declared in the May 2008 elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly are an accurate representation of voters’ intentions." London Elects have been unable to publish an audit of some of the software used in the count. The Open Rights Group
reports that there was equipment directly connected to the counting servers to which observers had limited or no access to and that the presence of error messages, bugs and system freezes indicates poor software quality.
N.B. These polls apply to First preference votes only. Source: UK Polling Report
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
.
It was the third London mayoral election, the previous elections being the first election
London mayoral election, 2000
The first election to the office of Mayor of London took place on 4 May 2000.-Results:¹Under the Supplementary Vote system, if no candidate receives 50% of 1st choice votes, 2nd choice votes are added to the result for the top two 1st choice candidates...
in May 2000 and the second election
London mayoral election, 2004
The 2004 election to the post of Mayor of London took place on 10 June 2004. It was being held on the same day as other local elections and the UK part of the 2004 European Parliament elections, so Londoners had a total of five votes on three ballot papers. Polling opened at 07:00 local time, and...
in June 2004.
Boris Johnson became the second Mayor of London and the first Conservative to hold the office since its creation in 2000.
Results
- Turnout: 2,456.990 : 45.33%
- Increase of 8.38%
- Rejected papers: 13,034 1st preference
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
announced Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, the incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
mayor, had been selected as their mayoral candidate. The announcement was made following consultations with London Labour Party members.
Conservative Party
On 27 September 2007, Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
was announced as the Conservative candidate, having received 75% of the vote in an election open to the entire London electorate.
The primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
was originally to be held in October 2006. Candidates who applied by the 4 August deadline included Richard Barnes, London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
member for Ealing and Hillingdon
Ealing and Hillingdon (London Assembly constituency)
Ealing and Hillingdon is a constituency represented in the London Assembly.It consists of the combined area of the London Borough of Ealing and the London Borough of Hillingdon....
, who withdrew in July 2007 and announced his support for Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
; Andrew Boff
Andrew Boff
Andrew Boff is a British politician and a Conservative member of the London Assembly, elected in the 2008 election. He is a Londonwide member, representing all thirty-two boroughs and the City of London....
, former Hillingdon
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...
and Hackney London Borough Council
Hackney London Borough Council
Hackney London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Hackney in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in the United Kingdom local government system in that its executive function...
lor; Nicholas Boles
Nicholas Boles
Nicholas Edward Coleridge "Nick" Boles is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the Grantham and Stamford constituency in Lincolnshire...
, Policy Exchange
Policy Exchange
Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. The Daily Telegraph has described it as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right"...
think-tank director, who withdrew in July 2007 for health reasons; Dr Robert Frew, a cultural policy and management specialist; Victoria Borwick
Victoria Borwick
Victoria Lorne Peta, Baroness Borwick is a British businesswoman and politician. After holding senior management positions with P & O and DMG World Media, she became director of fundraising for the Conservative Party...
, Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council
Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council
Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Kensington and Chelsea is divided into 18 wards, each electing three...
lor; Warwick Lightfoot, also a Kensington and Chelsea councillor; and Lee Rotherham. Steven Norris
Steven Norris
Steven John Norris is a British Conservative politician. He was the official Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 2000 and 2004, losing in both races to Ken Livingstone....
, Conservative mayoral candidate in 2000 and 2004, ruled himself out. Broadcaster Nick Ferrari
Nick Ferrari
Nick Ferrari is a radio presenter who currently hosts the weekday breakfast show from 0700-1000 UTC on the London-based talk and phone-in radio station LBC 97.3. He also has a regular column in the Sunday Express and is a regular guest on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV1...
also ruled himself out, having considered seeking the nomination.
Come the 4 August 2006 deadline, however, Conservative Party Chairman Francis Maude
Francis Maude
Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he currently serves as the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, and as a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Horsham...
announced the process was being delayed for six months to allow time for further candidates to submit applications. Prospective applicants who subsequently publicly declared were Lurline Champagnie
Lurline Champagnie
Lurline Champagnie is a Conservative Party councillor in the London Borough of Harrow, England, past Mayor of Harrow, and a candidate for the Conservative Party nomination for Mayor of London...
, a London Borough of Harrow
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
councillor; Winston McKenzie
Winston McKenzie
Winston Truman McKenzie is a UK politician, notable for having joined every major political party, and for having stood as an independent or minor party candidate on numerous occasions...
, a former boxer; and disc jockey Mike Read
Mike Read
Michael David Kenneth Read is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter.-Early life:...
. Read withdrew in July 2007 following a change in the voting system for Conservative candidates, giving his support to Johnson.
In April 2007 the Conservative party confirmed it had approached former Director-General of the BBC
Director-General of the BBC
The Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and editor-in-chief of the BBC.The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC and is now appointed by the BBC Trust....
Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
. Dyke stated he would not stand except on a joint ticket with the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats stated this would be against its party's constitution. Around this point former Conservative Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Sir John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
was considered a possible candidate, but he turned down an offer from David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
.
Following media and members' criticism over the party's selection procedure, the party chairman announced a revised timetable requiring a candidate to be in place before the party conference at the end of September 2007. In June 2007, the party published a detailed timetable confirming that the result of the selection process would be announced at 10 a.m. on 27 September 2007.
On 16 July, shortly before the noon deadline for nominations, Johnson confirmed he would seek the Conservative nomination. A final four of Johnson, Boff, Borwick and Lightfoot were chosen on 21 July for the primary election, which Johnson won.
Liberal Democrats
Brian Paddick
Brian Leonard Paddick is a British politician, and was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral election, 2008, coming third behind Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone...
. The party drew up a shortlist in September 2007 with a final choice made by a one member, one vote
One member, one vote
One member, one vote , as used in the parliamentary politics of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Canadian provinces, is a proposal to select party leaders and/or determine party policy, by a direct vote of the members of each party...
ballot of party members. Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...
, the party's 2004 mayoral candidate, did not stand. On 13 November 2007 it was announced Paddick had been selected from the shortlist, defeating Chamali Fernando and Councillor Fiyaz Mughal.
Green Party
On 12 March 2007 the party announced that it had selected Siân BerrySiân Berry
Siân Berry is an English politician and member of the Green Party of England and Wales. From 2006 to 2007, she was one of the Green Party's Principal Speakers...
as its mayoral candidate in a ballot of its London members, receiving 45% of the vote. The other candidates were Shahrar Ali, Shane Collins, Katie Dawson
Katie Dawson
Katie Dawson is a Green Party councillor in the London Borough of Islington. She was elected to this position in May, 2006 and was the first candidate for her party to sit in the council....
and Terry McGrenera. Berry is also one of their Assembly candidates.
British National Party
On 9 May 2007, the British National PartyBritish National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
announced that Richard Barnbrook
Richard Barnbrook
Richard John Barnbrook is a British politician and member of the London Assembly. Having been elected as a British National Party candidate, he resigned the BNP whip in August 2010. Barnbrook was a councillor, and leader , then deputy leader , of the BNP group on Barking and Dagenham London...
, leader of the opposition on Barking & Dagenham Borough Council
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 1,937; and the area was characterised by farming, woodland and the fishing fleet at Barking. This last industry employed 1,370 men and boys by 1850, but by the end of the century had ceased to exist; replaced by...
, and a member of the party's National Advisory Committee, had been selected to stand for election in 2008.
UK Independence Party
At the UK Independence PartyUnited Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
(UKIP) 2007 party conference, Gerard Batten
Gerard Batten
Gerard Joseph Batten is a Member of the European Parliament for London for the United Kingdom Independence Party . He was first elected in 2004. He sits as a member of the Independence and Democracy Group....
who is the UKIP MEP for the London region was selected to contest the London Mayoral Election.
In October 2006, UKIP announced that talkSPORT
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
presenter James Whale
James Whale (radio)
Michael "James" Whale is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.-Early life:Whale was born...
might stand against Ken Livingstone in the 2008 election. The government's media authority Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
told Whale that becoming Mayor would prevent him from continuing his radio show. Whale subsequently stated on his programme he would not be the UKIP candidate, but he did not rule out standing for election.
Winston McKenzie
In December 2007 former boxer Winston McKenzieWinston McKenzie
Winston Truman McKenzie is a UK politician, notable for having joined every major political party, and for having stood as an independent or minor party candidate on numerous occasions...
told the BBC that he intended to stand for Mayor of London as an independent on an anti-gang crime platform, having failed to secure the Conservative nomination earlier in the year.
The Left List
Following a split in the RESPECT Party at the end of 2007, the George GallowayGeorge Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
-led faction (also referred to as Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal was a faction that existed during the 2007-8 split within Respect – The Unity Coalition a UK political party.Respect Renewal was led by Linda Smith, the National Chair, Leader and Nominating Officer of Respect, and was formed in November 2007...
) retained the rights to the use of the name in elections, as Linda Smith was registered as party leader with the Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
. The Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
dominated faction put forward Lindsey German
Lindsey German
Lindsey German is the convenor of the British anti-war organisation Stop the War Coalition and a former member of the central committee of the Socialist Workers Party. She was editor of Socialist Review for twenty years until 2004...
under the Left List
Left List
Left Alternative was a UK political party resulting from the split within Respect – The Unity Coalition in late 2007. It operated in England and Wales. It was backed by the Socialist Workers Party...
banner. Galloway's faction did not put forward a candidate, but Galloway declared his support for Ken Livingstone.
English Democrats
In July 2007, the English Democrats Party announced that talkSPORTTalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
presenter Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Oi! band The Gonads and manages the New York City Oi! band Maninblack. Bushell's recurring themes are comedy, country and class...
had been nominated as a candidate to stand against Ken Livingstone in the 2008 election. In January 2008 Garry Bushell stepped aside (due to work commitments) in favour of Fathers-4-Justice Campaigner Matt O'Connor
Matt O'Connor
Matt O'Connor is the founder of the fathers' rights group Fathers 4 Justice in the UK. Denied access to his children by the Family Courts, O'Connor created Fathers 4 Justice to demand reform of the family courts and government policy on parental access.In his GQ magazine feature on O'Connor in...
, who successfully stood against Andrew Constantine, a City of London Banker, in a selection contest. O'Connor is also their last London-wide list Assembly candidate. O'Connor withdrew on the 25th April, after he fell out with the party over leadership, campaign funding and tactics.
Christian Choice
On 12 February Alan CraigAlan Craig
Alexander Alan Craig is the leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance party and a former councillor in the London Borough of Newham for Canning Town South....
was selected by the Christian Choice Party to stand in the Mayoral election. The Christian Choice Party are an alliance between the Christian Party and The Christian People's Alliance.
Potential candidates who did not stand
There were a significant number of people who claimed that they were planning to stand, but did not submit valid nomination papers.One London Party
The One LondonOne London
One London was a small British political party formed on September 1, 2005 by Damian Hockney and Peter Hulme-Cross. Both of them were originally elected to the London Assembly in June 2004 as United Kingdom Independence Party representatives, but in February 2005 announced the formation of the...
Party announced that their leader, Damian Hockney
Damian Hockney
Damian Hockney is a British politician and the leader of the One London Party. He was a London Assembly member and a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority from 2004 to 2008.-Political background:...
, would be their candidate in 2008 but on 27 March 2008 Hockney withdrew from the mayoral race. He blamed a lack of media opportunities for smaller parties such as his, and claimed the race was "a media election, fought just in the media".
Time Out
The London listings magazine Time Out announced it planned to recruit a self-financing candidate to stand on a manifesto agreed by its readers. In February 2008 it confirmed that columnist Michael Hodges would be its candidate, standing on a reformist ticket. However, he decided not to stand, citing the bureaucratic legislative requirements for candidates and instead pledged to "fight on" to open the system up to ordinary Londoners to stand as independents.John Bird
In March 2007 following widespread speculation that John Bird, founder of The Big IssueThe Big Issue
The Big Issue is a street newspaper published in eight countries; it is written by professional journalists and sold by homeless individuals. It was founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991...
, would seek the Conservative nomination, he announced that he would stand as an independent, on a platform of "social inclusion". In October 2007, he withdrew from the race and instead promised to launch a new social movement around tackling poverty.
Others
Chris Prior planned to stand on a platform to abolish the congestion charge for the London AssemblyLondon Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
but pulled out of the mayoral race shortly before the close of nominations.
On 21 February 2008 Dennis Delderfield announced he would stand for the New Britain Party
New Britain Party
New Britain was a minor British right wing political party founded by Dennis Delderfield in 1976. The party was de-registered in November 2008.-Founding:...
. He said he would abolish the Mayoral office and the GLA
Greater London Authority
The Greater London Authority is the top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers...
. He did not submit a valid nomination.
John Flunder was to be the Senior Citizens Party candidate for Mayor of London but did not submit a valid nomination.
LondonElectsYou.co.uk, a social networking site aimed at selecting a member of the public to contest the election with a £50,000 campaign budget, was set up in March 2008. The winning candidate did not submit any nomination however, with the site's founder David Smuts claiming that electoral authorities' bureaucratic obstructions failed to get them the required access to the electoral register to validate their nomination.
In April 2007 Richard Fairbrass
Richard Fairbrass
Richard Peter John Fairbrass is an English singer and television presenter.-Biography:Fairbrass was born on September 22, 1953 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, in England, and raised in East Grinstead, West Sussex. He is the lead vocalist of the band Right Said Fred which he formed with his...
, the lead singer of pop band Right Said Fred
Right Said Fred
Right Said Fred is an English pop band, formed in 1989 by brothers Richard Fairbrass and Fred Fairbrass, later joined by their friend Rob Manzoli. The group is named after a song of the same name which was a hit for Bernard Cribbins in 1962...
, announced that he may stand for Mayor of London on a platform of opposition to the London congestion charge
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within the Congestion Charge Zone , a traffic area in London. The charge aims to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London's transport system...
.
In December 2007 peace protester Brian Haw
Brian Haw
Brian William Haw was an English protester and peace campaigner who lived for almost ten years in a camp in London's Parliament Square from 2001, in a protest against UK and US foreign policy...
was reported to have announced his intention to stand for Mayor of London as "the only Pro Peace candidate" but nothing to support this appeared on his website.
Voting system
Elected mayors in the United Kingdom
Directly elected mayors are council leaders elected by the general electorate of a council area for local government, instead of being appointed by members of a local authority, which is common in the United Kingdom. The Elected Mayor is elected from a number of candidates who put themselves up for...
. Under this system voters express a first choice and (optionally) a second choice. If no candidate receives 50% of first choice votes, the top two candidates go to a second round. Voters whose first choice has been eliminated but whose second choice is one of the top two candidates have their second preference vote added to the first-round totals for the leading candidates. This gives a result whereby the winning candidate may be able to claim majority support, although it is not guaranteed.
Second preference recommendations
Various parties recommended a variety of second preferences to their supporters. Labour and the Greens announced a second preference pact, urging Livingstone supporters to give their second choice vote to Berry and vice versa. Left List also encouraged their supporters to vote Livingstone second, while the BNP encouraged theirs to vote Johnson second, although Johnson stated during the campaign that he did not want the second choice votes of BNP supporters. Brian Paddick was regularly pressed through the campaign to recommend a second preference choice to Liberal Democrat voters, with Livingstone and the Labour Party keen to be chosen, but Paddick refused to make such a recommendation, revealing after the election that his second preference vote was for the Left List.Vote counting
Optical scan voting system
An optical scan voting system is an electronic voting system and uses an optical scanner to read marked paper ballots and tally the results.-History:...
, where a computer scans the ballot papers and registers the votes. A digital image of the ballot paper was also taken so if there were problems with any of the papers, they could be examined by humans. In 2008, due to the large turnout, the counting took over 15 hours. However, if counted manually the process could - according to London Elects - take up to 3 days. Election observers have declared "there is insufficient evidence available to allow independent observers to state reliably whether the results declared in the May 2008 elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly are an accurate representation of voters’ intentions." London Elects have been unable to publish an audit of some of the software used in the count. The Open Rights Group
Open Rights Group
The Open Rights Group is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues, acting as a media clearinghouse service putting journalists in touch with experts, and by fostering a community of grassroots activists...
reports that there was equipment directly connected to the counting servers to which observers had limited or no access to and that the presence of error messages, bugs and system freezes indicates poor software quality.
Opinion polling
| Pollster | Date | Johnson | Livingstone | Paddick | Berry | Batten | Barnbrook |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Labour | Lib Dem | Green | UKIP | BNP | ||
| Actual Result | 01/05/08 | 42 | 36 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| You Gov/Evening Standard | 01/05/08 | 43 | 36 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| You Gov/Evening Standard | 28/04/08 | 46 | 35 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| mruk/Sunday Times | 27/04/08 | 43 | 44 | 9 | - | - | - |
| Ipsos MORI/Unison | 24/04/08 | 38 | 41 | 12 | - | - | - |
| YouGov/Evening Standard | 18/04/08 | 44 | 37 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| mruk Cello/Sunday Times | 14/04/08 | 44 | 45 | 9 | - | - | - |
| YouGov/Evening Standard | 11/04/08 | 45 | 39 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Ipsos MORI/Observer | 09/04/08 | 46 | 40 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Ipsos MORI/Unison | 07/04/08 | 40 | 41 | 14 | 5 | 0 | * |
| YouGov/Evening Standard | 04/04/08 | 49 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| ICM/Guardian | 01/04/08 | 42 | 41 | 10 | 4 | - | 1 |
| YouGov/Evening Standard | 25/03/08 | 47 | 37 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| YouGov/Evening Standard | 14/03/08 | 49 | 37 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| YouGov/ITN | 21/02/08 | 44 | 39 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ipsos MORI/Labour Party | 12/02/08 | 38 | 42 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| YouGov/ITN | 24/01/08 | 40 | 44 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| YouGov/ITN | 21/12/07 | 44 | 45 | 7 | - | - | - |
| YouGov/London Policy Institute | 09/11/07 | 39 | 45 | 8 | - | - | - |
N.B. These polls apply to First preference votes only. Source: UK Polling Report
See also
- London Assembly election, 2008London Assembly election, 2008An election to the Assembly of London took place on 1 May 2008, along with the London mayoral election, 2008. The Conservatives gained 2 seats, Labour gained one seat, the Liberal Democrats lost two seats, and United Kingdom Independence Party or One London as they became were wiped out...
- United Kingdom local elections, 2008United Kingdom local elections, 2008The 2008 United Kingdom local elections were held on 1 May 2008. These elections took place in 137 English Local Authorities and all Welsh Councils....
- Greater London AuthorityGreater London AuthorityThe Greater London Authority is the top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers...
- Mayor of LondonMayor of LondonThe Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
- London AssemblyLondon AssemblyThe London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...