I Work In The City

Introduction

An employee completing a form Businesses and other organisations in the City of London can register on the Ward Lists so they can vote in local City Ward elections of Aldermen and Common Councilmen who make up the decision making body of the City of London Corporation. Registration takes place on an annual basis and registration forms are sent to all organisations with premises in the City. These forms are sent to a specific contact within the organisation. If you would like to check if your organisation has received a form then you can email us. The contact in the organisation is responsible for completing and returning the form before the deadline of 28 November.

The Ward Lists are a register of resident and business voters in the City of London. There is a Ward List for each of the City’s 25 Wards. These lists are used for elections of Aldermen and Common Councilmen. Once the Ward Lists are published in February each year we cannot make amendments until the next publication the following year.

Why does the City have a different voting system?

View of London The City comprises just over one square mile but within that area the City of London Corporation serves around 9,000 residents and 340,000 workers. The City is the only area in the country in which the number of workers significantly outnumbers the residents and therefore, to be truly representative of its population, offers a vote to City organisations so they can have their say on the way the City is run.

Registering To Vote

You need to be registered so that you can vote in elections and have your say on the people who represent you. We update the Ward Lists every year in the autumn for a new updated Ward Lists to be published the following February even if there are no elections planned because there could be by-elections throughout the year.

The next ordinary elections of Common Councilmen, when all 100 seats will be up for election, are on 16 March 2009. You need to be registered on the Ward Lists to vote in these elections. Further information on these elections can be found in the elections section of the website which will be updated in due course.

In order to register to vote each organisation needs to return a form for each of the premises they occupy in the City of London. These forms are initially sent out towards the end of August and reminders are then sent if the forms are not returned. The deadline for returning forms is 28 November 2008 but please return your form as soon as possible.

The registration forms

Vote The forms, which are sent to the organisation in September, are pre-printed with the information we currently hold on the property. The contact who receives the forms just needs to:

amend these details by adding new people
removing people no longer there
changing any spelling errors
if no-one should be registered then just tick the relevant reason on the form and provide information where necessary.

Please return the forms as soon as possible in the pre-paid envelope provided as this will mean we don’t have to send reminders and make follow up calls and emails - this will help to keep costs down. Along with the forms you will be sent a leaflet which will help you fill out the forms - you can download a copy of the leaflet here.

For more help on how to fill out the forms please click here for a pictorial diagram of the form for sole traders and partnerships or click here for a pictorial diagram of the form for all other organisatons.

Click here to find out who is eligible to register to vote.

Who can register to vote?

There are two different types of organisations who can register people to vote:

Sole traders and partnerships (yellow form B) - these can register all the equity partners of the company
Qualifying bodies (blue form C) - these can register a certain number of people depending on the size of the workforce. This works out as 1 person for every 5 employees up to 50 and then 1 for every 50 employees thereafter.

In order to qualify to be nominated as an elector a person must be 18 years of age or reach the age of 18 by 15 February 2010, a British, Irish, Commonwealth or European Union citizen (download a list of eligible countries here ) and must either:

In the case of sole traders and partnerships, be an equity partner
In the case of a qualifying body, be a member of staff since 1 September 2007 and whose main place of work is a City premises of the organisation; or be a member of the Board of Directors or equivalent since 1 September 2007. There are also other criteria which can be used to select people - click here to find out more. Voters appointed by qualifying bodies should, as far as is reasonable, reflect the composition of the organisation’s workforce and the appointment process should be open and clear - further information on the appointment process can be found here.

Can I register to vote?

In order to register to vote you need to be:

Over 18 years of age or you will reach the age of 18 before 15 February 2010.
A British, Irish, Commonwealth or European Union citizen – download a list of eligible countries here
And either be:
1. A sole trader or equity partner who works in the City of London
2. Have worked for a limited company, charity, church, livery company or other organisation (which is not a sole trader or partnership) in the City since 1 September 2007 or have been on the Board of Directors (or equivalent) of an organisation since 1 September. There are also other criteria for being appointed - please click here to find out more.

You need to contact the person who the form has been sent to in your organisation. To find out who this is please email the Electoral Services Office.

Why should I register to vote?

London Building The City of London is the only local authority in the United Kingdom where businesses are still able to register to vote. This is because of the demographic of the City with so many businesses but only a relatively low number of residents. By registering to vote you are making sure that you can have your say on what happens in the area where you spend the majority of your time!

The incentives scheme

The City is concerned that all eligible businesses take steps to ensure that they are registered to vote. A scheme has, therefore, been devised to encourage registration.

Everyone whose name appears on a returned Ward List form is put into a draw to win 1 of 1000 pairs of tickets to the Barbican cinema. You will be notified in March 2009 if you have won. See www.barbican.org.uk for more information on the events based there.

The City of London is organising a reception at the Mansion House, hosted by the Lord Mayor, for key electoral registration contacts in City Firms. The reception is organised to thank the key contacts for the hard work they carry out during the voter registration process.