Laurence Fox's attempt to become London mayor has been stopped because he apparently submitted paperwork that was not valid. (Press Association via AP Images)
Leader of the Reclaim Party and former GB News host Laurence Fox was not allowed to run for London mayor after London Elects, the organization overseeing City Hall elections, ruled that his nomination papers were not valid.
Fox is said to have shared a letter that seemed to be from the deputy Greater London returning officer, stating that his attempt to compete in the May 2 election did not meet the necessary requirements. Specifically, the nomination forms for two boroughs did not have enough valid signatures, and there were inconsistencies in the submissions from three other boroughs.
After getting only 1.9 percent of the vote in his previous 2021 mayoral race, Fox stated that he will challenge the decision.
“We checked, double checked, and then triple checked our nominations,” Fox wrote, claiming that his exclusion was due to “pure political corruption.”
Every nomination paper from every borough was oversubscribed and double checked.
We have written to you repeatedly asking you which nominees are invalid and for what reason.
Please can you get back to our team with these perfectly reasonable questions.
This smells fishy. Happy… https://t.co/XqlHbTbQnF
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) March 28, 2024
On Thursday morning, London Elects posted the following statement on its website:
“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.”
