Guidance for the GLRO administering the GLA elections

An election agent is the person responsible for the proper management of the candidate’s election campaign and, in particular for its financial management. Every Mayor of London candidate or individual London-wide Assembly Member candidate must have an election agent. 

The notice of the appointment of an election agent must be delivered to you, by the latest time for the delivery of notices of withdrawal, which is by 4pm on the last day for delivery of nomination papers.1

We have produced an elections agents notification form as part of the set of nomination papers for the Greater London Authority elections. 

You should communicate information on the election processes, the code of conduct and standard points of behaviour to the election agent at the earliest opportunity. In particular any information you provide should provide links to and highlight the new postal vote handling and the new undue influence and intimidation rules.

Can a candidate be their own agent?

A candidate may appoint themselves as their election agent.

If no agent is appointed by the deadline for withdrawals, the candidate automatically becomes their own election agent.2  

A candidate is also becomes their own agent if:

• they revoke their agent’s appointment or 
• their agent dies, and a replacement is not appointed on the day of the death or on the following day3

Election agent’s office address

The election agent must have an office to which all claims, notices, legal process and other documents may be sent.4 This must be a physical address – PO boxes or similar mailboxes cannot be used.  

The location of the office election must be in one of the following locations:5

• within the parliamentary constituency where the candidate is standing
• within a constituency which adjoins the constituency where the candidate is standing 
• within London, within a London borough which is part of, or adjoins the constituency where the candidate is standing 

The election agent’s office address is often the same as their home address. Alternatively, it might be  the local political party office or an office especially set up for the election. 

If the candidate gives you written notification of their appointment as their own election agent, they must give an office address within the qualifying area.6

Where a candidate acts as their own election agent as a result of not having appointed anybody else, the office address is deemed to be the address given on the statement of persons nominated i.e. the one provided on the home address form.7   

This is the case even where a candidate has chosen to withhold their home address from the statement of persons nominated and ballot paper. You should make this clear to candidates.

Mayor of London candidates

If the candidate’s address is outside the qualifying area as defined in the bullet points above, the office address is deemed to be the address of the subscriber whose name appears first in the statement of persons nominated.

Individual London-wide candidates

If the candidate’s address is outside the qualifying area, you should contact the candidate and request that they provide an alternative address within the area.