A bill to reform the electoral system used to elect the Mayor of London to the Alternative Vote system.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal, and the Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Section 1: Definitions

(1) The phrase “GLA Act 1999” refers to the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

Section 2: Repeals

(1) In the GLA Act 1999, Schedule 2, Part I, Section 4 (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) shall be repealed in its entirety.

Section 3: Amendments

(1) In the GLA Act 1999, Schedule 2, Part I, Section 4 insert the following

(a) “(2) The candidate who received the fewest number of first available preference votes is eliminated from the contest. Their votes shall be redistributed according to the candidate’s voter’s next available preference. Redistributed votes have the same value as the original vote.”

(b) “(3) Schedule 2, Part I, Section 4 (2) shall be repeated until a candidate has achieved fifty percent of the first available preference votes.

(c) “(4) If, by reason of an equality of total number of first available preference votes, two or more candidates tied in the contest each have either the greatest total number of first available preference votes or the fewest total number of first available preference votes, the Greater London returning officer shall decide by lots which of them are to be returned as the Mayor (in the case of two or more candidates tied in the contest each having the greatest total number of first available preference votes) or which of them are to be eliminated from the contest (in the case of two or more candidates tied in the contest each having the fewest total number of first available preference votes).

3. Mayoral elections to use the alternative vote

In Part I of schedule 2 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (voting at elections: election of the mayor), for paragraph 4 substitute:

4.—(1) If none of the candidates to be the Mayor receives more than half of all the first preference votes given in the Assembly constituencies, the following provisions of this paragraph have effect.

(2) The candidate who received the fewest number of first preference votes is eliminated from the contest.

(3) The number of subsequent preference votes given in the Assembly constituencies for each of the candidates remaining in the contest by voters who did not give their previous preference vote to any of those candidates shall be ascertained.

(4) That number shall be added to the number of first preference votes given for that candidate, to give that candidate's total number of preference votes.

(5) The candidate with the fewest total number of preference votes is eliminated from the contest.

(6) The process described by sub-paragraphs (3) to (5) is to be repeated until a single candidate remains in the contest.

(7) The person who is to be returned as the Mayor is that single candidate.

(8) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (5) if, by reason of an equality of total number of preference votes, two or more candidates remaining in the contest each have the fewest total number of preference votes, the Greater London returning officer is to decide by lots which of them is to be eliminated.

Section 4: Extent, Commencement and Short Title

(1) This Act shall extend to England, Wales and Scotland.

(1) This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.

(2) This Act shall come into force upon receiving royal assent.

(2) This Act comes into force on the day after Royal Assent.

(3) This Act may be cited as Mayoralty of London Electoral Reform Act 2017.

This bill was co-written by the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Industry and Trade /u/ElliottC99 and the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government /u/AV200 on behalf of the Official Opposition.

This division ends on 9th December.

Division! Clear the bar.