Votes! Votes! Votes! With less than a week until the election day on May 6th, have you decided who you will be voting for?

Who are our 20 candidates? (Listed Alphabetically)

Shaun BaileyConservative Party

Kam BalayevRenew

Sian BerryGreen Party

Count BinfaceCount Binface for Mayor of London

Valerie BrownThe Burning Pink Party

Piers CorbynLet London Live

Max FoshIndependent

Laurence FoxThe Reclaim Party

Peter GammonsUKIP

Richard HewisonRejoin EU

Vanessa HudsonAnimal Welfare Party – People, Animals, Environment

Steve KelleherSocial Democratic Party

Sadiq KhanLabour Party

David KurtenHeritage Party

Farah LondonIndependent

Nims ObungeIndependent

Niko OmilanaIndependent

Luisa PorrittLiberal Democrats

Mandu ReidVote Women’s Equality Party on orange

Brian RoseLondon Real Party

What exactly is going to happen on election day?

  • The voting hours are between 7am -10pm, where you will have to vote at your local polling station. There are THREE ballot papers: Pink, Yellow and Orange. PINK is for the mayoral votes (you have TWO votes – your 1st and 2nd preferences and they must be different). YELLOW is for the Constituency London Assembly Member vote, which is someone who you would like to represent your local area. ORANGE is for the London-wide Assembly Member vote, where you have to vote for a party to represent the whole of London.

Who is in the lead in the LATEST POLLS?

  • Sadiq Khan is leading with 63% followed by Shaun Bailey’s distant 37% in the latest second round of polls, but with time running out and tensions rising…anything could change in the last minute.
  • However, YouTuber Niko Omilana has inspired many of London’s younger generations to vote for the youth of this unconventional and unique mayoral election this year, whereby in the age category of 18-24, Omilana is the second most popular candidate behind Khan by having 19% of votes.

SO THAT MEANS...ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ON THE 6TH MAY!

I had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing a few of the candidates within the mayoral election, the London Assembly election and the Constituency London Assembly election. THE INTERVIEWS:

1. 'What inspired you to be a candidate for this election?'

"I always feel that more needs to be done in Havering and Redbridge: we need more police on the streets, we need more resources for our young people and ensure that our borough is cleaner, greener and fairer for local people." (JUDITH GARFIELD - Representing LABOUR in the Constituency London Assesmbly candidate for Redbridge and Havering)

"I am standing to show women and girls that actually they should have a voice, they do have a voice and that issues that affect us - violence against women and girls, the horrendously expensive costs of childcare that keep so many mothers out of the workplace - aren't just things that we should accept...I'm here to be a voice for women and girls who are usually forgotten by politicians. " (MANDU REID - WOMEN'S EQUALITY PARTY - candidate for the London Assembly and Mayor of London)

"I want to stand up and be a voice for the people of London to show that you don't have to be within a party in order to have the courage to speak up about what really matters to you. We see so many injustices daily and not enough is being done to solve these issues that affect millions and millions of Londoners." (NIMS OBUNGE - INDEPENDANT - candidate for Mayor of London)

2. 'What are your top 3 policies that you would like to continue advocating for if you were elected?'

"I would be advocating for safer streets; knife crime is a really big problem and we need to tackle that. Also, we need more jobs as currently, 300,000 Londoners are unemployed. We also need to take care of our environment with awareness around sustainable living." (JUDITH GARFIELD)

"We would make ending violence against women and girls a top priority...there isn't enough discussion about sexual harrasment, sexual violence, domestic abuse. We are also campaigning for a care-led recovery, making sure that we invest in child care...and social care...and a reform of the police in London. We need a review to look at institutional sexism in the Met police: 600 sexual miscontuct allegations were made against Met police employees...it will make sure that everyone in our city can live freely and feel safe." (MANDU REID)

"I want to address ways to end knife crime to keep Londoners safe...I also want to focus on creating affordable housing for Londoners, especially as housing becomes more expensive, this harms people's mental health - we need to be people-orientated in our priorities... and also take action for a greener environment." (NIMS OBUNGE)

3. 'What makes you stand out amongst the other candidates?'

"I've lived here for a very long time, I know what the issues are, I have a lot of experience working with different communities or all ages and backgrounds and most importantly, I care about the area." (JUDITH GARFIELD)

"Some of the other candidates talk about equality, but they don't prioritise equality and I think that when you prioitise equality, you make life better for everybody. A vote for the Women's Equality Party is a vote for a positive future for London." (MANDU REID)

"I want to bridge the values of each party together so that we have unity rather than division, because we are stonger when we work together, not against each other. Plus, during the pandemic, I 've helped thousands of families who were struggling to have enough food and I've created the London Week of Peace to celebrate different communities." (NIMS OBUNGE)

YOUR VOTES MATTER, so take the time out to carefully choose who you truly believe will make London a better place and let Londoners be heard!

YOUR VOTE, YOUR VOICE!

WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR?

Written By Saambavii Suthakaran, Caterham High School