Fox took to X, formerly Twitter, to put his exclusion from the mayoral contest down to ‘political corruption’ in posts which have since been deleted.
Actor-turned-political activist Laurence Fox has been barred from standing in the London mayoral election due to take place in May, over errors contained in his nomination papers which are too late to correct.
Fox, who represents the right-wing populist Reclaim Party, submitted the papers shortly before the deadline on Wednesday, which were subsequently found to contain errors.
It has been reported that Fox has failed to provide enough signatures of support in two London boroughs, while three supporters from other boroughs could not be found in records.
Fox took to X, formerly Twitter, to put his exclusion from the mayoral contest down to ‘political corruption’ in posts which have since been deleted.
London Elects, which administers the mayoral and London Assembly elections, said in a statement: “The Reclaim Party candidate’s representatives met with London Elects for the first time on March 26, 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.”
In his since deleted posts, Fox claimed that his party had “checked, double checked and then triple checked our nominations” and would appeal against the decision.
It is understood that there is no avenue for appealing against the decision by London Elects.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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