Laurence Fox barred from London mayoral election over ‘invalid’ forms

Right-wing “anti-woke” campaigner Laurence Fox has been barred from standing in the upcoming London mayoral election because his team submitted “invalid” nomination forms. 

London Elects, the body that oversees the City Hall elections, said Fox’s application was “incomplete” at the time of the deadline, and therefore he cannot stand in the election on 2 May.  

In a post on X/Twitter, which now seems to have been deleted, the former Lewis star said he planned to appeal the decision.

Candidates must submit nomination forms signed by 10 electors in each of the capital’s 32 boroughs, plus the City of London.

London Elects said papers submitted by Fox had only nine valid names in two of the boroughs, while “three further subscribers for other boroughs could not be reconciled to voter register records.”

The body issued a statement in which they said: “[We] encouraged all prospective candidates to contact [us] within good time to discuss the process and [for] advice on the paperwork required. This was made very clear to all who had shown an interest in the nominations process.

“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 [27 March] 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.”

Laurence Fox, the leader of the right-wing Reclaim Party, which stands for “patriotism” and “protecting our borders”, bemoaned the decision on X, claiming that his team “checked, double checked and triple checked our nominations”.

He went on to say: “The team made sure that every box was ticked, every T crossed and every I dotted. We will appeal [against] this decision.”

Fox stood as a candidate for Mayor of London in 2021 but was eliminated after the first round of voting, receiving 47,634 first-preference votes – only 1.9 per cent of the overall vote. 

Aside from his political career, Fox is also known for appearing on GB News, before being suspended, then sacked, for making misogynistic remarks on air. 

In January, he lost a libel case, after calling drag queen Crystal and former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake paedophiles. He has also compared the LGBTQ+ progress Pride flag to the Nazi swastika and filmed himself burning Pride flags.