Laurence Fox’s hopes of becoming the London mayor have been destroyed after he “filled in forms wrong”.
London Elects, which administers the London mayoral and assembly elections, said that the Reclaim party leader submitted the papers before the deadline but they contained errors.
It is understood that he failed to provide enough signatures of support in two London boroughs, while three supporters from other boroughs could not be found in records.
Fox, who has been the leader of the rightwing populist party since 2020, claimed on X (formerly Twitter) in since-deleted posts that the actions were the result of “political corruption”.
He claimed that his party had “checked, double checked and then triple checked our nominations” and would appeal the decision. It is understood that there is no way to appeal the decision by London Elects.
In an email also tweeted by the actor, election officials said nomination papers from two boroughs did not have the 10 supporters required, while three supporters from other boroughs “could not be reconciled to voter register records”.
It also said Fox would be refunded the £20,000 fee and deposit paid for the mayoral nomination, plus another £5,000 Reclaim had overpaid “in error”.
At the last London mayoral election in 2021, Fox received 47,634 votes – less than two percent of the total cast – and lost his £10,000 deposit, which is returned to candidates who receive more than five percent of the vote.
In June 2023, Fox contested the 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection triggered by Boris Johnson’s resignation. Fox received 2.3 percent of the vote, finishing fourth and losing his deposit.
London Elects said in rebuttal: “The Reclaim party candidate’s representatives met with London Elects for the first time on Tuesday 26 March, less than 24 hours before the close of the nominations deadline. At that time, the paperwork was incomplete.
“Mr Fox’s representatives were advised to ensure that completed forms were submitted well before the Wednesday 4pm statutory deadline. The paperwork was submitted very shortly before 4pm.
“Upon inspection, the nomination forms contained errors which – the deadline having passed – were too late for Mr Fox’s team to correct. The conclusion of London Elects was that the requirements of the nomination process were not completed by the deadline.
“The Greater London Returning Officer is bound by electoral law and has no ability to allow anything other than fully compliant nominations, submitted by the deadline, to stand.”
