Everything you need to know about TODAY'S UK election: 6th May 2021.
Good afternoon all! I’m sure you’ve had a busy few weeks like most of us so the general elections may not have been on your mind. Well don’t worry, I’ve decided to put together a small guide to explain things like what is happening, who you’re voting for, the cut-off time, and why there are multiple elections happening on the same day… There’s a lot happening today as we have the UK local elections, the Scottish Parliament election, the Welsh Senedd election, and the London Mayoral elcection. I know!
The basics:
If you’re a UK citizen, you are eligible to vote. I won’t cover how to register here or how the do postal and proxy votes since these are things that need to be done before election day (postal votes are usually 11 days before election date), and if you’re not already up to speed, that day is TODAY! This means that the only way to vote today is IN PERSON and at a local polling station. You can check which is you allocated station and what polls are happening in your area by entering your postcode here.
For those that meet the criteria, feel free to read on. For the rest of you, you can check out my last election post which explains how to register (in the first few paragraphs).
Who can vote today?
Individuals who are 18 or older on the 6th May 2021 AND a UK citizen (or Irish, EU or Commonwealth citizen with a permanent UK address). If it is a local vote and you are living in Scotland or Wales, you can vote at the local elections from 16. You still need to be 18 for the general elections.
If you have no legal obstructions to voting. Worth noting here that you CAN vote if you’ve been remanded in custody and HAVE NOT been convicted.
You can vote even if you don’t have a permanent address (eg homeless, Irish travellers).
A patient in a Mental Health Hospital
What votes are happening today?
- Mayor of London
- London assembly elections (Constituencies)
- London assembly elections (Additional: London assembly).
Why are there so many elections happening today?
The simple answer? Coronavirus * surprise surprise * Due to corona taking over our lives, this meant that the elections couldn’t take place on the 7th May 2020 and were postponed to this year. For this reason, last year’s election will be held alongside this year’s scheduled election. For more information, click here.
Who is running for London Mayer?
For the sake of peace and less confusion, I’ll only outline the Mayor of London candidates. For other local election candidates including Scottish and Welsh candidates, I’ll provide links for you to carry out your own research. This year there are 20 candidates running for London Mayer including YouTubers, Former actors, and a space warrior all trying to make a change in the political world. The candidates range from all ages with the the youngest being Niko Omilana at age 23. This list also includes our current Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who hopes to be re-elected again as Mayor of London. Elections happen every four years but due to the re-scheduled election, the next election will take place in 2024, to align with the current cycle.
What does the Mayor of London do?
The London Mayor is elected to help manage the decisions that affect those living, working, and visiting the UK’s capital. They are responsible of setting and managing the budget (usually around 17 Billion), which supports services such as transport, policing, fire services, and the work of City Hall where they will be situated. The London mayor is scrutinized by the London Assembly (who are also being elected today): a 25-member elected body who represent the citizens of London and ensure decisions are made in our best interest. For more information on the role of the Mayor of London, please read here.
Fun fact: All mayoral candidates entering must pay a deposit of £10,000 which they will get back if they gain at least 5% of votes. Even though some candidates may be mistaken for as a joke, it’s an expensive joke at that!
The candidates
Sadiq Khan:
Current Mayor, Sadiq Khan aims to keep his role. He pledges to protect jobs, re-skill labours, and rebuild from the effects of the coronavirus. He also pledges to tackle crime in the city and rebuild the relationship certain communities have with the police. Sadiq pledges to work towards a greener approach in the city and wants to promote fairness and equality.
Read Sadiq’s manifesto here.
Shaun Bailey:
Shaun Bailey pledges to give London a “fresh start” with his manifesto promising safer streets, focusing on getting Londoner’s on the housing market, reversing the congestion charge hike, and cleaning the London air pollution. As a previous Youth worker with 20 years under his belt, and experience being homeless, Shaun reckons he has what it takes to make a difference. For those interested, he has recently done an interview with social commentator Zeze Millz which you may find of interest as she asks the important questions.
Read Shaun’s Manifesto here.
Luisa Porritt:
Luisa pledges to focus on jobs, homes and clean air. She is particularly interested in taking London forward by making London affordable, safer, and tackling the effects of the pandemic by supporting small businesses, reinventing the high street and providing apprenticeships. She pledges to make the police work with the community and providing more and better youth services.
Read Luis’s Manifesto here.
Sian Berry:
Sian Berry from the Green party pledges for a new start. As a former Assembly member, she understands what it means to listen to the people. Sian’s manifestio covers things like housing, health, the environment etc and a pledge to put the power in the hands of the people. Of course, one of her biggest goals is to tackle the environmental crisis and ensure that we have zero carbon in the city by 2030
Laurence Fox:
Former actor Laurence Fox wishes to make a change in London. He pledges to revive the capital from the effects of Lockdown by introducing free transport to Londoners for 6 months to help us get back on our feet. Laurence wants a “free” London… not one with restrictions and covid-passports. He wishes to impose tough “New York style” community policing to reduce crime and provide extra housing. He also pledges to put on a free festival to celebrate the end of lockdown.
Read Laurence’s Manifesto here.
Mandu Reid:
Mandu Reid wants equality in London and pledges that Women’s rights will be at the front of her priorities. As the head of the Women’s eqality party and first black head of any political party, she wants to make a change in our approach especially in light of recent events threatening women’s safety in the capital.
Read Mandu Reid’s Manifesto here.
Brian Rose:
Former Wall street banker Brian Roses wishes to dip his toes in UK politics. He pledges to create more green spaces, build 50,000 homes by Christmas, put 10,000 new officers on the street and abolish the congestion charge until 2022. Brian pledges to get London back to work and rebuild our economy.
Read Brian’s Manifesto here.
Niko Omilana:
Niko Omilana (Not pronounced Neeko), is the youngest candidate. Famous as a YouTube Prankter with 3.61 million subscribers, Niko wants people to know that he is very serious about this role! In his manifesto, Niko pledges to be more inclusive with public holidays by including other religious dates to the calendar, provide free transport for under 18’s and over 69’s (Uni students included), raise minimum wage by 6.9% and Introducing stop and serve - including free school meals. He also wants to bring the Fredo bar back to 5p and tell Boris “Shush”. Niko tells people to vote him “for vibes” and though some may not take him seriously, he recently ranked 5th place in a recent poll with 5% voting him first.
Read Niko’s Manifesto here.
Max Fosh:
Another YouTuber, Max Fosh is also running for mayor of London. In his Youtube video, he states that he would just like to get more votes than Laurence Fox and to increase the turnout of voters in the 18-25 category. Max doesn’t believe he will win or get his deposit back, but if he did, he wishes to listen to all the scientists and people in the industry to tackle Covid-19.
There is no official Manifesto submitted.
Peter Gammons:
UKIP member Peter Gammons pledges to provide a safe London free from knife crime, rebuild the capital’s economy, fix a bankrupted TFL, make housing affordable, unite divided communities and provide a greener London.
Read Peter’s Manifesto here.
Piers Corbyn:
Yup, you read that surname right! Jeremy’s brother Piers wishes to run for London Mayor and wants to impliment anti-lockdown policies and provide homes “for all”. He also wants a more accountable NHS, defend free speech and implement new intelligent environment and transport policies.
Watch Piers’ Manifesto here.
Count Binface:
With no identity other than a space/bin costume, Count has entered because he believes there aren’t any better candidates. In his manifesto, he pledges to repair the Hammersmith bridge, Finish crossrail, add a monument of Sir David Attenborough (a national treasure imo) at Trafalgar square, let london join the EU, encourage mask wearing and banning loud snacks from theatres.
Read Count’s Manifesto here.
Richard Hewison:
Richard believes that he has what other candidates don’t. He pledges to reverse Brexit. This is pretty much his sole policy as he believes we have been distracted too much by COVID and many have not addressed the crippling effects of Brexit.
Read Richard’s Manifesto here.
Kam Balayev:
Kam believes that we are being robed every day for our data and that this is then monitised. He pledges to take profits from big tech companies and redistribute it in the form of higher wages and affordable homes in London. He also wants to protect green spaces by making it hard for developers from buying these spaces. Kam also wants to address the cladding scandal and tackle the knife crime issue.
Read Kam’s Manifesto here.
Valarie Brown:
Valarie Brown wants to improve the vision that Londoners have for their city. She hopes for a systemic change and wants to put the power in the people’s hands and not the politicians. If elected, Valarie pledges to listen to the people.
Read Valarie’s Manifesto here.
Vanessa Hudson:
Representing the animal warfare party, Vanessa wants to protect animals and not just people. She pledges to look at the needs of animals and tackle the crisis of biodiversity, health and climate. Vanessa also wants to priorities the creation of sustainable and affordable homes for all, celebrate and expand London’s biodiversity.
Read Vanessa’s Manifesto here.
David Kurten:
David Kurten wishes to focus on safety, freedom, and sanity. He pledges to make London safe again, support businesses and get London moving. David pledges to add an additional 3,000 officers to focus on bigger crimes instead of handing out fines and visiting houses and he wants a zero-policy for knife crime and carrying weapons. David also wants to end the war on moterists by stopping the expansion of ULEZ and congestion zones, and remove pay-as-you-go road pricing. David wants to protect our heritage and environment and protect TFL-owned spaces from development. David also wants to scrap HS2 and support black cab drivers.
Read David’s Manifesto here.
Farah London:
Farah London is independent and hopes to tackle knife crime, help the environment, implement a covid recovery plan and focus on youth and affordable housing. She wants to represent the people properly and gain back pride in our city by reuniting communities that are broken. She states that her manifesto is written by the people and she will act as a leader who will represent and implement changes to meet their needs.
Read Farah’s Manifsto here.
Nims Obunge:
Nims Obunge wants to focus on knife crime in London, especially against young people. He wants to support vulnerable families better and address the link between poverty and crime. He wants to tackle the root of the issue of development in some communities which fall victim to the prison system. He feels that rather pouring money into more policing, we should be doing more to support, protect and help those affected. Nims will focus on four areas: Making London safe, affordable, healthy and green and prosperous.
Read Nims’ Manifesto here.
What time does voting close?
Voting in the UK is happening TODAY (thurdsay 6th May 2021) and voting started at 7am and will end at 10pm.
If you want information on the Scottish election, please click here. For information on the Welsh Senedd election, click here.
You may not want to vote for any candidate, in which case I would advise you to SPOIL your ballot. This means that your voice is heard as not being satisfied. This is the best way to include your vote and represent your views. Remember, only votes casted can be represented.
HOW TO SPOIL YOUR BALLOT:
Write a message at the bottom stating your dissatisfaction
Tick ALL the boxes
Don’t tick any box
Include a personal detail - this, therefore, cannot count
Write your own box and tick it. eg “None of the above”
That’s it folks! I hope this helped and brought you up to speed. You have less than 5 hours to cast your vote if you haven’t already! GO GO GO!
Liz x
Remember, polls close at 10 pm so make sure that if you’re voting (or spoiling your vote) that you’re on time!