Democracy Club Ballotin: March 2024
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Welcome to the (slightly delayed) March 2024 edition of Democracy Club’s regular newsletter. All past emails are accessible in an online archive.
In this newsletter:
- The big SoPN day approaches
- Candidates for London
- Our latest blog posts
- Hustings
- Developments in electoral law
- Elections to watch
SoPNs sighted
Those of you who are familiar with our work will know that there are two crucial days in our electoral calendar. One is polling day itself. The other is the day candidate lists are published by local authorities. Officially known as the Statement of Persons Nominated (SoPN), this is the final say on who will be on the ballot paper on election day.
Each year on this sacred day, our volunteers make the pilgrimage to the hallowed ground of candidates.democracyclub.org.uk, where they transcribe the candidates into our system. This crucial work allows voters to look up their ballot paper via a simple postcode search.
This year, due to variations in electoral law, there are two SoPN days. The Mayor of London and London Assembly occurred on 28 March. The rest of England and Wales - perhaps 8,000 candidates in total - will happen at 4pm 5 April (this Friday). If you want to help out, head over to our candidates site and create an account - everything you need to know will appear on the front page.
Candidates for London
The candidates for Greater London were published on 28 March:
- 13 candidates are standing for Mayor, representing 10 parties and three independents.
- 80 candidates are contesting the 14 constituency seats.
- 12 parties and 3 independents are contesting the 11 London-wide seats.
The twenty-five members of the London Assembly are elected using the Additional Member System. Eleven are elected by the whole city, and fourteen are elected by individual constituencies across London.
In terms of number of candidates, the London-wide list is traditionally the longest ballot paper in the UK. This year there are 123 individuals on it, down from 171 in the last election. However, voters choose between parties on this ballot.
Lean more about voting systems in the UK.
Latest blog posts
Case Study: The BBC
Democracy Club’s polling station finder allows the BBC to provide its readers with the information they need to vote.
What’s up for election in 2024?
On Thursday 2 May, local elections will take place everywhere in England and Wales. Council seats, mayoral positions, the London Assembly and Police and Crime Commissioners will all be contested.
- 2,636 seats across 107 local council authorities
- 37 Police and Crime Commissioners
- 11 Mayors, including eight Combined Authority Mayors
- The London Assembly
Voter information and UK law: an overview
State provision of election information has always been limited in the UK. Before the 21st century there was little statutory duty to provide material for voters. But recently things have begun to change. With proposed electoral reforms in Wales and Scotland set to expand voter information in the two nations, this blog takes a look at where it is already provided in UK law.
Hustings
Each year we collect information on hustings, which we display to voters on WhoCanIVoteFor.co.uk. Are you organising or attending a public hustings in the coming month?
Developments in electoral law
Two updates from Wales this month. The Senedd Cymru (Electoral Candidate Lists) Bill, which aims to ensure the Senedd is more representative of the gender make-up of Wales, was introduced earlier this month. Senedd research has published an overview of the proposed law.
Ceredigion council has voted to consult on replacing their First Past the Post electoral system with the Single Transferable Vote. It joins Powys and Gwynedd, who voted to consult late last year. Welsh councils are allowed to change their electoral systems as part of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.
Elections to watch
Following the resignation of the MP for Blackpool South, a parliamentary by-election will take place alongside other elections on 2 May.
All the Best, The Democracy Club Team