Each year, the City of London Corporation write to all of the businesses and residents who occupy property within the Square Mile, asking them to return a registration form which allows them to vote in City elections.
As with most things in the City of London, there’s a lot of historic terminology which can be a bit confusing. For instance, a ‘Ward List’ is the electoral register or the list of people who are allowed to vote in City elections.
The City of London is unique in the UK because in addition to local residents, businesses are also able to submit the names of individuals who can vote on their behalf. The number of votes allocated to each company depends on how many full time employees they have working for them.
The Ward List registration process usually opens in early September and closes before the end of November each year, so the time to register is now. If you do not register to vote before 30th November, you will not be eligible to vote in elections on 20th March 2025.
Voters in the City of London get to vote in 2 different elections. They get to vote for their ‘Common Councillors’ and they get to vote for their ‘Alderman/Alderwoman’. Within the City of London, there are 100 Common Councillors, split into 25 wards. The size of each ward determines how many Common Councillors represent that ward. For example, Bishopsgate is a large ward and had 6 Common Councillors. Each ward elects 1 Alderman/Alderwoman. The next round of ‘all out’ Common Council elections will take place in March 2025, where Bishopsgate’s Aldermanic election will not take place until September 2028.
So, how do I register to vote?
The simple answer to this is…ask for help! The City of London Elections team can be contacted at 0800 587 5537 or by emailing electoralservices@cityoflondon.gov.uk.
Alternatively, you can complete one of the 3 forms below, which are split into Residential, Sole Trader and ‘Qualifying Body’ (companies with employees).
