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(1) There shall be an authority for Greater London, to be known as the Greater London Authority.
(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate.
(3) The Authority shall have the functions which are transferred to, or conferred or imposed on, the Authority by or under this Act or any other Act.
(1) The Authority shall consist of—
(a) the Mayor of London; and
(b) an Assembly for London, to be known as the London Assembly.
(2) The Assembly shall consist of twenty five members, of whom—
(a) fourteen shall be members for Assembly constituencies (“constituency members”); and
(b) eleven shall be members for the whole of Greater London (“London members”).
(3) There shall be one constituency member for each Assembly constituency.
(4) The Assembly constituencies shall be the areas, and shall be known by the names, specified in an order made by the Secretary of State.
(5) Schedule 1 to this Act (which makes further provision about Assembly constituencies and orders under subsection (4) above) shall have effect.
(6) The Mayor and the Assembly members shall be returned in accordance with the provision made in or by virtue of this Act for—
(a) the holding of ordinary elections of the Mayor, the constituency members and the London members; and
(b) the filling of vacancies in the office of Mayor or among the constituency members or the London members.
(7) An ordinary election involves the holding of—
(a) an election for the return of the Mayor;
(b) an election for the return of the London members; and
(c) elections for the return of the constituency members.
(8) The term of office of the Mayor and Assembly members returned at an ordinary election shall—
(a) begin on the second day after the day on which the last of the successful candidates at the ordinary election is declared to be returned; and
(b) end on the second day after the day on which the last of the successful candidates at the next ordinary election is declared to be returned;
but this subsection is subject to the other provisions of this Act and, in particular, to any provision made by order by virtue of subsection (4) of section 3 below.
(9) If at any ordinary election the poll at the election of an Assembly member for an Assembly constituency is countermanded or abandoned for any reason, the day on which the last of the successful candidates at the ordinary election is declared to be returned shall be determined for the purposes of subsection (8) above without regard to the return of the Assembly member for that Assembly constituency.
(10) The validity of proceedings of the Assembly is not affected by any vacancy in its membership.
(11) The validity of anything done by the Authority is not affected by any vacancy in the office of Mayor or any vacancy in the membership of the Assembly.
(1) The poll at the first ordinary election shall be held on 4th May 2000 or such later date as the Secretary of State may by order provide.
(2) The poll at each subsequent ordinary election shall be held on the first Thursday in May in the fourth calendar year following that in which the previous ordinary election was held.
(3) Subsection (2) above is subject to any order made by virtue of section 37(2) of the Representation of the [1983 c. 2.] People Act 1983 (power by order to fix a day other than the first Thursday in May).
(4) As respects the first ordinary election, the Secretary of State may by order make provision—
(a) modifying section 2(8) above in relation to the Mayor and Assembly members returned at that election;
(b) for the returning officer at the election of the Mayor and the election of the London members to be a person, or a person of a description, designated in the order (instead of the person specified in section 35(2C) of the Representation of the [1983 c. 2.] People Act 1983);
(c) for and in connection with modifying the entitlement to vote or the registration of electors, or with respect to the registers (or parts of registers) of electors to be used;
(d) for or in connection with enabling electors to vote in the poll at such polling stations or other places as may be prescribed, at such times as may be prescribed, on such one or more days preceding the date specified in or provided under subsection (1) above for the poll as may be specified in the order.
(5) The provision that may be made by an order under paragraph (d) of subsection (4) above includes provision for such enactments or statutory instruments as may be specified in the order to have effect with such modifications as may be so specified.
(6) In this section “prescribed” means specified in, or determined in accordance with, an order under this section.
(1) Each person entitled to vote as an elector at an ordinary election shall have the following votes—
(a) one vote (referred to in this Part as a mayoral vote) which may be given for a candidate to be the Mayor;
(b) one vote (referred to in this Part as a constituency vote) which may be given for a candidate to be the Assembly member for the Assembly constituency; and
(c) one vote (referred to in this Part as a London vote) which may be given in accordance with subsection (5) below.
(2) The Mayor shall be returned under the simple majority system, unless there are three or more candidates.
(3) If there are three or more candidates to be the Mayor—
(a) the Mayor shall be returned under the supplementary vote system in accordance with Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act; and
(b) a voter’s mayoral vote shall accordingly be a supplementary vote, that is to say, a vote capable of being given to indicate the voter’s first and second preferences from among the candidates.
(4) The Assembly member for an Assembly constituency shall be returned under the simple majority system.
(5) A London vote may be given for—
(a) a registered political party which has submitted a list of candidates to be London members; or
(b) an individual who is a candidate to be a London member.
(6) The London members shall be returned in accordance with Part II of Schedule 2 to this Act.
(7) The persons who are to be returned as—
(a) the Mayor, and
(b) the constituency members,
must be determined before it is determined who are to be returned as the London members.
(8) But if the poll at the election of an Assembly member for an Assembly constituency is countermanded or abandoned for any reason, the persons who are to be returned as the London members shall be determined without regard to the determination of the Assembly member for that Assembly constituency.
(9) At an ordinary election, a person may not be a candidate to be the Assembly member for more than one Assembly constituency.
(10) If the person who is returned as the Mayor is also returned as an Assembly member for an Assembly constituency, a vacancy shall arise in the Assembly constituency.
(11) In this Part “registered political party” means a party registered under the [1998 c. 48.] Registration of Political Parties Act 1998.
(1) An Assembly member may at any time resign his membership of the Assembly by giving notice to the proper officer of the Authority.
(2) Any such resignation shall take effect on the officer’s receipt of the notice.
(1) If an Assembly member fails, throughout a period of six consecutive months from his last attendance, to attend any meeting of the Assembly, he shall cease to be a member of the Assembly.
(2) A person shall not cease to be a member by virtue of subsection (1) above if the failure to attend is due to some reason approved by the Assembly before the expiry of that period.
(3) For the purposes of this section, an Assembly member shall be deemed to have attended a meeting of the Assembly on any occasion on which he attended—
(a) as a member at a meeting of any committee or sub-committee of the Assembly; or
(b) as a representative of the Assembly or the Authority at a meeting of any body of persons.
(4) A person shall not cease to be a member of the Assembly by reason only of a failure to attend meetings of the Assembly if—
(a) he is a member of any branch of Her Majesty’s naval, military or air forces and is at the time employed during war or any emergency on any naval, military or air force service, or
(b) he is a person whose employment in the service of Her Majesty in connection with war or any emergency is such as, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, to entitle him to relief from disqualification on account of absence,
and the failure to attend is due to that employment.
Where an Assembly member—
(a) ceases to be qualified to be a member of the Assembly, or
(b) becomes disqualified from being a member otherwise than—
(i) under the [1998 c. 18.] Audit Commission Act 1998,
(ii) by virtue of a conviction, or
(iii) by virtue of a breach of any provision of Part II of the Representation of the [1983 c. 2.] People Act 1983, or
(c) ceases to be a member of the Assembly by reason of failure to attend meetings of the Assembly,
the proper officer of the Authority shall forthwith declare the member’s office to be vacant, unless it has been declared vacant by the High Court.
If the person who is returned at an election under section 16 below to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor is an Assembly member, a vacancy shall arise—
(a) if he is a member for an Assembly constituency, in that Assembly constituency; or
(b) if he is a London member, in his office as a London member.
(1) For the purpose of filling a casual vacancy in the membership of the Assembly, the date on which a vacancy is to be regarded as occurring shall be—
(a) in the case of any person being returned—
(i) at an ordinary election, as the Mayor and also as the Assembly member for an Assembly constituency, or
(ii) at an election under section 16 below to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor when he is an Assembly member,
on the date on which he is returned as the Mayor or, as the case may be, to fill the vacancy in that office;
(b) in the case of any person being returned as mentioned in section 16(10) below, on the date on which he is returned to fill the vacancy in the Assembly constituency;
(c) in the case of non-acceptance of office by any person who is required to make and deliver a declaration of acceptance of office, on the expiration of the period appointed under this Part of this Act for the delivery of the declaration;
(d) in the case of resignation, upon the receipt of the notice of resignation by the proper officer of the Authority;
(e) in the case of death, on the date of death;
(f) in the case of disqualification under the [1998 c. 18.] Audit Commission Act 1998 or by virtue of a conviction—
(i) on the expiration of the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or application with respect to the relevant order or decision under that Act or (as the case may be) that conviction, or
(ii) if an appeal or application is made, on the date on which that appeal or application is finally disposed of or abandoned or fails by reason of its non-prosecution;
(g) in the case of an election being declared void on an election petition, on the date of the report or certificate of the election court;
(h) in the case of a person—
(i) ceasing to be qualified to be an Assembly member, or becoming disqualified, for any reason other than one mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (g) above, or
(ii) ceasing to be an Assembly member by reason of failure to attend meetings,
on the date on which his office is declared to have been vacated either by the High Court or by the proper officer of the Authority as the case may be.
(2) The proper officer of the Authority shall—
(a) give written notice of any casual vacancy among the London members to the Greater London returning officer; and
(b) give public notice of any casual vacancy among the constituency members.
(3) Any public notice under subsection (2)(b) above shall be given—
(a) by posting the notice in some conspicuous place or places in the Assembly constituency concerned; and
(b) in such other manner, if any, as the officer considers desirable for giving publicity to the notice.
(4) Any notice under subsection (2) above shall be given as soon as practicable after the date on which the vacancy is to be regarded under subsection (1) above as occurring.
(1) This section applies where the office of an Assembly member returned for an Assembly constituency is vacant.
(2) Subject to subsection (8) below, an election shall be held in the Assembly constituency to fill the vacancy.
(3) At the election to fill the vacancy—
(a) each person entitled to vote at the election shall have a constituency vote; and
(b) the Assembly member for the Assembly constituency shall be returned under the simple majority system.
(4) The date of the poll at the election shall be fixed by the constituency returning officer in accordance with subsection (5) below.
(5) The date fixed shall be no later than 35 days after the date of the relevant event.
(6) In subsection (5) above, “the relevant event” means—
(a) in a case where the High Court or the proper officer of the Authority has declared the office to be vacant, the making of that declaration; or
(b) in any other case, the giving of notice of the vacancy to the proper officer of the Authority by two or more local government electors for the Assembly constituency concerned.
(7) Section 243(4) of the [1972 c. 70.] Local Government Act 1972 shall apply for the purpose of computing the period of 35 days referred to in subsection (5) above as it applies for the purposes of section 89(1) of that Act.
(8) If the vacancy occurs within the period of six months preceding an ordinary election, it shall be left unfilled until that election unless subsection (9) below applies.
(9) This subsection applies if, on the occurrence of the vacancy (or, in the case of a number of simultaneous vacancies, the occurrence of the vacancies) the total number of unfilled vacancies in the membership of the Assembly exceeds one-third of the whole number of Assembly members.
(10) A person may not be a candidate at an election to fill a vacancy if he is—
(a) the Mayor;
(b) an Assembly member; or
(c) a candidate in another such election.
(11) The term of office of the person returned at the election—
(a) shall begin immediately upon his being declared to be returned as the constituency member; and
(b) shall end at the time when it would have ended had he been returned as the constituency member at the previous ordinary election.
(1) This section applies where the office of a London member is vacant.
(2) If the London member was returned as an individual candidate, or the vacancy is not filled in accordance with the following provisions, the vacancy shall remain unfilled until the next ordinary election.
(3) If the London member was returned (under Part II of Schedule 2 to this Act or this section) from a registered political party’s list, the Greater London returning officer shall notify the Chair of the Assembly of the name of the person who is to fill the vacancy.
(4) The person who is to fill the vacancy must be one who—
(a) is included in that list;
(b) is willing to serve as a London member; and
(c) is not a person to whom subsection (5) below applies.
(5) This subsection applies to a person if—
(a) he is not a member of the party; and
(b) the party gives notice to the Greater London returning officer that his name is not to be notified under subsection (3) above as the name of the person who is to fill the vacancy.
(6) Where more than one person satisfies the conditions in subsection (4) above, the Greater London returning officer shall notify the name of whichever of them is higher, or highest, in the list.
(7) Where a person’s name has been notified under subsection (3) above, his term of office as a London member—
(a) shall begin on the day on which the notification is received under that subsection, and
(b) shall end at the time when it would have ended had he been returned as a London member at the previous ordinary election,
and this Act shall apply as if the person had been declared to be returned as a London member on the day on which the notification under subsection (3) above is so received.
(1) The Mayor may at any time resign his office by giving notice to the proper officer of the Authority.
(2) Any such resignation shall take effect on the officer’s receipt of the notice.
If the Mayor fails on six consecutive occasions to attend meetings of the Assembly held pursuant to section 52(3) below, he shall cease to be the Mayor.
Where the Mayor—
(a) ceases to be qualified to be the Mayor,
(b) becomes disqualified from being the Mayor otherwise than—
(i) under the [1998 c. 18.] Audit Commission Act 1998,
(ii) by virtue of a conviction, or
(iii) by virtue of a breach of any provision of Part II of the Representation of the [1983 c. 2.] People Act 1983, or
(c) ceases to be the Mayor by reason of failure to attend meetings of the Assembly,
the proper officer of the Authority shall forthwith declare his office to be vacant, unless it has been declared vacant by the High Court.
(1) Subsection (1) of section 9 above shall apply for the purpose of filling a casual vacancy in the office of Mayor as it applies for the purpose of filling a casual vacancy in the membership of the Assembly, but with the omission of paragraphs (a) and (b) and the substitution for paragraph (h) of—
“(h) in the case of a person—
(i) ceasing to be qualified to be the Mayor, or becoming disqualified, for any reason other than one mentioned in paragraphs (c) to (g) above, or
(ii) ceasing to be the Mayor by reason of failure to attend meetings of the Assembly,
on the date on which his office is declared to have been vacated either by the High Court or by the proper officer of the Authority, as the case may be.”
(2) If a casual vacancy arises in the office of Mayor, the proper officer of the Authority shall give—
(a) notice of the vacancy to the Greater London returning officer; and
(b) public notice of the vacancy in every Assembly constituency.
(3) Any public notice under subsection (2)(b) above shall be given—
(a) by posting the notice in some conspicuous place or places in each Assembly constituency; and
(b) in such other manner, if any, as the officer considers desirable for giving publicity to the notice.
(4) Any notice under subsection (2) above shall be given as soon as practicable after the date on which the vacancy is to be regarded by virtue of subsection (1) above as occurring.
(1) This section applies where a vacancy occurs in the office of the Mayor.
(2) Subject to subsection (9) below, an election shall be held to fill the vacancy.
(3) At the election, each person entitled to vote as an elector at the election shall have a mayoral vote.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) of section 4 above and Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act shall apply in relation to the election as they apply in relation to the election of the Mayor at an ordinary election.
(5) The date of the poll at the election shall be fixed by the Greater London returning officer in accordance with subsection (6) below.
(6) The date fixed shall be no later than 35 days after the date of the relevant event.
(7) In subsection (6) above, “the relevant event” means—
(a) in a case where the High Court or the proper officer of the Authority have declared the office to be vacant, the making of that declaration; or
(b) in any other case, the giving of notice of the vacancy to the proper officer of the Authority by two or more local government electors for Greater London.
(8) Section 243(4) of the [1972 c. 70.] Local Government Act 1972 shall apply for the purpose of computing the period of 35 days referred to in subsection (6) above as it applies for the purposes of section 89(1) of that Act.
(9) If the vacancy occurs within the period of six months preceding an ordinary election, it shall be left unfilled until that election.
(10) If—
(a) a person who is a candidate in an election to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor is also a candidate in an election to fill a vacancy in an Assembly constituency, and
(b) that person is returned in both elections, but
(c) the circumstances are such that a vacancy does not arise in the Assembly constituency by virtue of section 8 above,
a vacancy shall arise in the Assembly constituency.
(11) The term of office of the person returned as the Mayor at the election—
(a) shall begin immediately upon his being declared to be returned as the Mayor; and
(b) shall end at the time when it would have ended had he been returned as the Mayor at the previous ordinary election.
Schedule 3 to this Act (which, by amending the Representation of the People Acts, makes provision for and in connection with treating elections under this Act as local government elections for the purposes of those Acts) shall have effect.
(1) A returning officer shall be entitled to recover expenditure properly incurred by him in relation to the holding of the first ordinary election if the expenditure—
(a) is of a kind determined by the Secretary of State; and
(b) is reasonable.
(2) The Secretary of State may determine a maximum recoverable amount for expenditure of such description as he may determine; and the returning officer may not recover more than that amount in respect of any such expenditure.
(3) The amount of any expenditure recoverable in accordance with this section shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund on an account being submitted to the Secretary of State; but the Secretary of State must, before payment, satisfy himself that the expenditure in the account is properly payable.
(4) A returning officer must furnish the Secretary of State with such information or documents relating to an account submitted under subsection (3) above as the Secretary of State may require.
(5) The Secretary of State must prepare an account of any sums which are issued to him out of the Consolidated Fund by virtue of this section and of his use of those sums.
(6) The account required to be prepared under subsection (5) above must be audited by such body or person as the Treasury may determine.
(7) Any exercise by the Secretary of State of his functions under subsections (1) and (2) above shall require the consent of the Treasury.
(8) This section has effect in relation to the first ordinary election instead of section 36(4B) of the Representation of the [1983 c. 2.] People Act 1983.
(1) The Secretary of State may incur expenditure in doing anything which he considers expedient—
(a) in preparation for the holding of the first ordinary election,
(b) for the purpose of facilitating the conduct of the first ordinary election, or
(c) otherwise in connection with the holding of the first ordinary election.
(2) The Secretary of State must not, by virtue of subsection (1) above, incur expenditure of a kind which is recoverable by a returning officer under section 18 above.
(1) Subject to any disqualification by virtue of this Act or any other enactment, a person is qualified to be elected and to be the Mayor or an Assembly member if he satisfies the requirements of subsections (2) to (4) below.
(2) The person must be—
(a) a Commonwealth citizen;
(b) a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; or
(c) a relevant citizen of the Union.
(3) On the relevant day, the person must have attained the age of 21 years.
(4) The person must satisfy at least one of the following conditions—
(a) on the relevant day he is, and from that day continues to be, a local government elector for Greater London;
(b) he has, during the whole of the twelve months preceding that day, occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in Greater London;
(c) his principal or only place of work during that twelve months has been in Greater London;
(d) he has during the whole of that twelve months resided in Greater London.
(5) This section applies in relation to being returned as a London member under section 11 above otherwise than at an election as it applies in relation to being elected.
(6) References in this section to election shall accordingly be construed as if a London member so returned were elected at an election on the day on which he is to be treated as returned.
(7) In the application of this section by virtue of subsection (5) above, any reference to the day on which a person is nominated as a candidate shall be taken as a reference to the day on which notification of the person’s name is given under section 11(3) above by the Greater London returning officer.
(8) In this section—
“citizen of the Union” shall be construed in accordance with Article 8.1 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (as amended by Title II of the Treaty on European Union);
“relevant citizen of the Union” means a citizen of the Union who is not—
a Commonwealth citizen; or
a citizen of the Republic of Ireland;
“the relevant day”, in relation to any candidate, means—
the day on which he is nominated as a candidate and also, if there is a poll, the day of the election; or
if the election is not preceded by the nomination of candidates, the day of the election.
Greater London Authority Act 1999