Laurence Fox’s Barred From London Mayor Race Over Paperwork ‘Errors’

Laurence Fox’s bid for London mayor has been blocked after he reportedly submitted invalid paperwork. (Press Association via AP Images)

Leader of the Reclaim Party and former GB News host Laurence Fox was refused London mayoral candidacy after the body overseeing City Hall elections, London Elects, declared his nomination papers invalid.

Fox reportedly published a letter that appeared to be from the deputy Greater London returning officer that said Fox’s bid to contest in the May 2 election fell short on technical grounds. Specifically, nomination forms for two boroughs lacked the requisite number of valid signatures, and discrepancies were found in three other boroughs’ submissions.

After his previous 2021 mayoral race where he garnered a mere 1.9 percent of the vote, Fox said he would appeal the decision.

“We checked, double checked, and then triple checked our nominations,” Fox wrote, alleging “pure political corruption” as the reason behind his exclusion.

On Thursday morning, London Elects issued the following statement via it’s 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.”