The Metropolitan police are being called to investigate the abuse and intimidation experienced by candidates in the London elections
London: The Metropolitan police are being urged to take a closer look at the abuse and intimidation that candidates faced during the recent mayoral and assembly elections. This comes after a review of the 2024 City Hall elections highlighted some serious concerns.
During the election, Sadiq Khan was heckled by a rival candidate, Nick Scanlon, who made quite the scene before leaving the stage. It was a pretty chaotic moment as Khan was announced the winner.
There were also reports of a letter sent to voters in Brent and Harrow that made some questionable claims about Labour’s candidate, Krupesh Hirani, who managed to keep his seat.
The London Assembly elections review group suggested that both the Greater London Authority and the Metropolitan Police should look into the abuse and intimidation candidates faced. They noted that this kind of behavior affected candidates’ willingness to attend public events.
Interestingly, the inquiry didn’t find any formal reports of harassment from the returning officer overseeing the elections, but they did mention a “heightened risk of disruption” during the mayoral declaration.
Aline Delawa, the Labour Party’s regional director for London, shared that they’ve seen a rise in abuse directed at candidates. She pointed out a targeted letter sent to Hindu voters in Brent and Harrow that needed addressing.
Delawa also mentioned that harassment levels have been on the rise and are likely to continue as we head into future elections.
On a different note, the review found that only a small number of Londoners were deterred from voting due to new ID requirements, despite fears that many could be disenfranchised.
In fact, during the recent local elections outside London, about four percent of eligible voters didn’t participate, partly because of these ID rules.
In London, polling station staff recorded over 5,600 voters who were initially turned away for not having photo ID. Out of those, more than 4,100 came back to vote, while about 1,500 didn’t.
The report expressed concern that the number of people turned away who didn’t return was low, but any eligible voter unable to cast their ballot is a worrying sign for democracy.
Almost 7.5 million votes were cast in total, with about 2.5 million for mayoral candidates and nearly five million for the two London Assembly ballots.
Turnout for the GLA elections was 40.5 percent, which is lower than in the previous two elections.
The working group suggested that younger Londoners should be allowed to use their Oyster cards to prove their eligibility to vote in the future.
They also asked Transport for London to ensure the application process for these cards is secure.
Interestingly, the Labour government is considering lowering the voting age to 16.
The 2024 mayoral election was the first to use the traditional “first past the post” system and involved a manual count of the ballots, which is a change from the previous machine counting.
Khan hinted that the government might revert to a two-vote system for the mayoral elections starting in 2028, but there’s been no detailed plan shared yet.
Len Duvall, who chaired the elections review group, expressed concern that, for the first time, there was no data on how Londoners voted at the ward and borough levels.
He emphasized that the GLA elections are unique in their size and complexity, with nearly 7.5 million ballots counted across all 32 London boroughs.
Duvall acknowledged the challenges faced but praised the smooth execution of the elections. However, he stressed that issues like voter ID requirements disproportionately affect certain groups and need to be addressed.
He also called for clarity on the voting system for the next mayoral elections, urging the government to communicate its plans and consider public feedback.