May 2022 local and Mayoral elections count review

We have published an independent review into the verification and count arrangements for the May 2022 Croydon local and Mayoral elections.

The independent report found that we delivered an accurate, safe and transparent verification and count, and that the results declared reflected the will of the electorate, and that our Returning Officer delivered their duties in line with the law, with no breach of any legislation.

The report was carried out by Mark Heath, Returning Officer at Southampton and SOLACE Elections Spokesperson, and Robert Curtis, Head of Electoral Services at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and ex chair of the Association of Electoral Administrators AEA. The process was chaired by Alison Griffin, Chief Executive of London Councils.

Download the full report (PDF, 853KB).

Improvement recommendations

The Returning Officer has accepted in full the recommendations for improvement published in the report. Our staff will be working with all political parties to action them.

An Elections Briefing and Information Group (EBIG) will be set up, in agreement with the Mayor, Group Leaders and Chair of the General Purposes Committee (GPC). The group will review the report's recommendations, assessing the changes in the Elections Act and how it impacts locally.

The report and action plan will be taken to GPC at the end of September and a verbal update will be provided at Full Council in October.

2024 election preparation

We have already developed an action plan, increased capacity in the elections team and put new governance arrangements in place to ensure we are prepared for the elections of the Mayor of London and Greater London Assembly next year.