First up, not just any random person can rock up and have a say. You need to be registered, 18 or older, and living in Greater London—that’s the 32 boroughs plus the City of London. Oh, and you need to be a British, Irish, Commonwealth, or EU citizen with the right to vote. Side note: If you’re a UK citizen living abroad, sorry, you can’t vote in London elections because you don’t pay our ridiculous tube fares.
You get two votes on the day: one for the Mayor, and one for your local London Assembly Member. This is where Dave’s confusion kicks in—the Mayor vote uses a funky system called the Supplementary Vote, which is not as scary as it sounds. Promise.
The Supplementary Vote: It’s Like Tinder for Politics
Instead of picking just one person, you get to choose a first preference and a second preference. Think of it as swiping right on your top candidate, but keeping a backup in case they get ghosted. If your first choice gets more than 50% of the vote, bam, they win instantly. Easy.
But here’s where it gets juicy: if no one hits that 50% mark—which happens almost every time—the system kicks in. They scrap all candidates except the top two, and then they count everyone’s second preference votes from the eliminated candidates. It’s essentially a political runoff, but you didn’t have to stand in line for a second round. Confession: I once voted for a joke candidate as my first choice, thinking it was harmless. My second preference actually mattered that year. Don’t be like me.
