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Giving City workers a chance to shape our future
The City of London is unique. City workers, not just residents, can vote in our elections in addition to voting at home. This makes sure workers’ priorities get heard loud and clear, and helps the Square Mile remain one of the best places to work in the world.
Voters elect members of the City of London Corporation, the organisation runs the Square Mile. Not only do we look after local services such as roads, rubbish collection, planning and the police - we also support and promote City businesses in the UK and internationally.
Voter registration is a sign of confidence in the City - that our civic and democratic institutions remain strong and that as many members of our community as possible can have their voices heard.
Who can vote?
Sole traders, partnerships, and other qualifying bodies – such as llcs and charities - can register voters.
A sole trader, or sole proprietorship, is a business owned and run by one individual who can be registered as a voter in the City if they meet certain criteria. Partnerships refer to equity partners in firms without limited liability. To register as a sole trader or partner, start here.
Qualifying bodies include various incorporated or unincorporated entities, such as limited companies and charities, and they occupy premises in the City. These organisations are allocated voters based on the size of their workforce in the City. To register your voters as an organisation, start the guide here.
Informing your colleagues
Your colleagues may not know that they have the opportunity to vote in the City of London and rely on you to inform them of this unique right.
Please ensure that they receive an email, an example of which is in our campaign toolkit, as are templates and graphics for your intranet and messaging platforms. City workers cannot register individually and will need to contact you to add them to the registration form.
Workplaces who make their staff aware of the opportunity to participate almost always fill their allocated voter places
Selecting your voters
Voter registration is not political - it is a visible sign that your organisation sees itself as part of the City community and allows your colleagues a say in the future of the place they work.
Voter registration is a great way to engage staff with the Square Mile and feel a sense of ownership and involvement in City life. It can also be a useful personal development tool, allowing staff at varying levels of seniority to gain experience in a leadership role by representing the views and interests of their colleagues, your organisation and the wider sector.
Where you can appoint more than one voter, you must ensure that those registered reflect the makeup of the workforce. If you have staff networks or other representative groups, ensure they are made aware of the opportunity to register.
If more people wish to register than you have spaces, you will need to decide a means of choosing voters, such as a random selection or ensuring all departments are represented. The process of appointing voters should be open and clear. Please use your full voter allocation - to ensure as many colleagues as possible are able to help shape the City's future.
Here are a few of the ways some City businesses have approached appointing their voters:
- Engaging your staff networks: Appointing the leaders of staff networks and employee resource groups or asking those group for nominations.
- Rewarding leadership at all levels: Selecting employees that have consistently shown internal leadership and a willingness to engage with the local community.
- Opening self-nominations: Allowing staff to put their names forward and selecting a set of electors that best represents the diversity of the organisation.
Registering your voters
If you represent a company or other organisation in the City, you have likely received details on how to begin the registration process. If this is not the case, please request code which will enable you to register online or follow our voter registration guide.
If you are worker and don't know who registers voters within your organisation, please register your interest and we will let them know you'd like to become a voter.
Sole traders and partners, who are physically based in the City for work, may register themselves to vote online by requesting a code here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Those registering to vote at a company or other incorporated organisation must meet one of the following criteria, which can include long-term sub-contractors, agency staff and part-time workers. Time spent working remotely on a temporary basis due to the pandemic, which would otherwise have been spent working in the City, counts towards eligibility.
- Has worked for the organisation in the City, as their principal place of work, since 1st September 2023.
- or has worked at the organisation in the City, as their principal place of work, for a combined period of five years or more - with some of this taking place since 1st September 2019.
- or has worked in the City, as their principal place of work, for any organisation - for a combined period of ten years or more.
- or was a member of the organisation's Board of Directors or Governing Body on 1st September 2024, and had been so for the whole of the previous year.
You must also be a UK, Commonwealth or EU citizen. EU citizens, who are not also Commonwealth or Irish citizens, can vote for Common Councillors but not Aldermen. You can be registered if they turn 18 by 15th February 2027, but must be 18 on Election Day to actually vote.
The voter registration rules are different to those for companies. All sole traders or partners can register to vote if they are physically working out of a City of London premises, that they or their partnership own or rent with a freehold or lease, on 1st September 2024. This includes barristers chambers and those working from home on a temporary basis due to the pandemic.
They must also be a UK, Commonwealth, or qualifying EU citizen and over the age of 18 to vote.
This doesn't apply to LLPs, who must follow the same rules as Limited Companies.
No. Commonwealth and EU citizens can register to vote in our elections. EU citizens, who are not also Commonwealth or Irish citizens, can vote for Common Councillors but not Aldermen.
Rules have recently changed for EU voters. EU citizens will only be able to be on the Ward List if they
are:
- A British, Irish, or Commonwealth citizen; or
- A citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, or Spain who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, or who does not need permission; or
- A citizen of any other EU country who on or before 31 December 2020 had permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, or who did not need permission, and this has continued without a break.
More details can be found at: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/workervote
Businesses can’t vote, but their workers can. Businesses and other organisations that own or rent a physical workplace in the City, with a freehold or leasehold, can nominate staff to vote in City elections. Once nominated, worker voters can make their own decision about how they cast their vote. Voters nominated by their workplace may, however, choose to consult their colleagues on issues and candidates, so as to better represent their views in the way they vote.
The City is divided into 25 wards, small electoral districts, each with a number of Common Councillors and one Alderman. There are 125 elected members of the City of London Corporation in total, who look after local services in the City and beyond, and serve as the representative voice of City businesses here and around the world. The next all-out elections to the Common Council will be in March 2025, but by-elections and elections for Alderman can be held at any time. Those registered by 30th November will be able to vote in elections held during the following year.
Each City workplace that is eligible to register voters should have a designated member of staff responsible for registration. If you do not know who this person is, please express an interest in becoming a voter and we’ll get in touch with them on your behalf.
If your City workplace remains your principal or only place of work, you are likely still eligible - as long as you retain a genuine physical connection to the Square Mile. While those working from home part of the time, or even the majority of the time, may still be eligible, those working remotely all the time are not.
No. You can be a long-term subcontractor, agency worker or part-time worker, as long as your primary place of work is the organisation’s workplace in the City. Other qualifications apply - please see further information.
Only certain City workers qualify to be voters. You must, or your workplace must, have a freehold or lease on a physical workplace in the City - this does not include most serviced offices like WeWork, which give their customers a licence to occupy rather than a lease. Various other qualification rules apply, please see further information.
In addition to its 8,600 residents, the City plays host to over 600,000 workers, many of whom spend more time here than they do at home. Similarly, the City of London Corporation serves as both the local authority for the Square Mile and a representative voice for its businesses, here and abroad.
No, your workplace must re-register each year by submitting their voter registration form. You must be registered by 30th November to appear on next year's Ward List.
More information on individual candidates in any election is published following the nomination deadline. You may however see candidates campaigning before then and shouldn’t hesitate to get in touch with them. You can find the current members for your ward here.
Yes. If you live outside the City, being registered in our elections doesn’t affect your voter registration at home. If registered, you can vote in local elections in both places.
Registered electors are able to vote in their allocated polling station on polling day. As with any other election, you can request a postal vote without needing a reason. If you would prefer to vote by post, your application must be signed by hand and received by 5pm on the 11th working day before the election. Postal votes are usually despatched 10 working days before polling day.