London Assembly Reports - Elections Reviews

Reports may be downloaded, free of charge, in PDF and RTF formats - the site help page provides information about these formats.

For further information on any of the reports below, please contact Janet Hughes, Head of Scrutiny and Investigations, email janet.hughes@london.gov.uk.

The 2008 GLA Elections

November 2008
The 2008 GLA Elections PDF
The 2008 GLA Elections RTF

The delivery of the May 2008 Greater London Authority elections was hailed as a great success by the Elections Review Committee. While there were a number of areas for improvement in the use of electronic scanners to count the votes, the Committee remained supportive of e-counting pending the outcome of a detailed comparison of costs compared to a manual count.

Despite the general success of the election, the Committee made a number of recommendations for further improving London’s democratic process including:

That the government ensure the rules for the 2012 Election are in place at least 12 months before polling day.
That the GLA makes adequate and regular payments to its reserves to ensure the necessary resources are available to conduct the 2012 elections.
Further work on the design of ballot papers to ensure clarity.
Use of appropriate containers and security devices for the storing of ballot papers with seals that will not accidentally break.

The GLA Chief Executive's response to the Committee's report is available below.
Response from the GLA Chief Executive to the 2008 Elections report PDF
Response from the GLA Chief Executive to the 2008 Elections report RTF

Counting the Vote

December 2007
Counting the Vote PDF
Counting the Vote RTF

This report outlines the Elections Review Committee's findings on the procedures that have been put in place for 1 May 2008, when Londoners will go to the polls to elect a Mayor of London and 25 Assembly Members.

The Committee’s report makes a number of recommendations to London Elects, who will run the elections on behalf of the GLA. It calls on them to communicate more effectively with voters to prevent accidental spoiling of ballot papers, and to be more transparent about ballot paper adjudication during the count itself.

GLRO update

In March 2008 the Greater London Returning Officer responded to the report's request for an update on the key milestones for the 2008 elections:

GLRO update PDF
GLRO update RTF

GLRO Response to the report PDF
GLRO Response to the report RTF

2005 General Election in London

November 2005
2005 General Election in London PDF
2005 General Election in London RTF

This report represents the findings and recommendations of the 2005 Elections Review Committee. The report considers the risks of fraud within the postal voting system, and electoral registration in London. It also reviews the allegations made by Mr George Galloway MP relating to postal voting in Tower Hamlets.

Greater London Authority Elections

A report from the 2004 Elections Review Committee
December 2004
Greater London Authority Elections PDF
Greater London Authority Elections RTF

On 10 June 2004, 1.9 million Londoners went to the polls to cast their votes for a Mayor of London, London Assembly, and Members of the European Parliament.

The London Assembly established a cross-party Committee to review the elections. The report contains the findings and recommendations of the Committee.

The Committee warns in the report that plans to increase the number of people voting by post could turn elections into a "lottery". The Government is expected to push ahead with plans for everyone to vote by post for the local elections in May 2005. But Royal Mail's poor service in delivering and returning postal ballots in June's elections for the Mayor and London Assembly led to thousands of voters either not receiving their ballot papers or their papers not being returned in time.

Elections and Electorate Engagement

May 2002
Elections and Electorate Engagement PDF
Elections and Electorate Engagement RTF

The initial GLA elections in May 2000 had to be organised in what was, given their scale and complexity, a very short space of time as the GLA Act received Royal Assent only late in the autumn of 1999. They are the 3rd largest single elections in Europe and use three electoral systems. They were the first in the UK to use electronic counting. As a result there were many lessons to be learned and we collected views from the political parties, electoral practitioners, interest groups and the media. The review focussed on issues unique to London and the GLA elections, and made a series of recommendations – for change in the statutory provisions, for enhancement in the management and running of the elections, and for fresh ways of addressing matters of electorate engagement and turnout. The task of taking these forward rests variously with the Greater London Returning Officer, Government, the Electoral Commission and the parties themselves.

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