Localism Bill — Schedule 2 — Allowing Voters to Express a Second Preference When Electing Mayors — 17 May 2011 at 19:38

The majority of MPs voted to elect mayors via the supplementary vote system rather than the simple majority system.

MPs were considering the Localism Bill^[1]. The text of amendment rejected in this vote was:

• Amendment 2, page 199, leave out lines 30 to 43 and insert
• ‘The elected mayor is to be returned under the simple majority system.’

This would have taken effect on clause 9HL titled "Voting at elections of elected mayors" within a New Part 1A of the Local Government Act 2000^[2] which Schedule 2 to the Localism Bill would have inserted.

The supplementary vote system gives electors the opportunity to indicate a second preference in elections where there are more than two candidates, and if no candidate gets over half of the first preference votes the rules set out in Schedule 2, Paragraph 3, of the Local Government Act 2000 take effect and the two candidates with most first preference votes (and any others with tied with them on the same number of votes) stay in the contest; and the second preferences of those who gave their first preferences to the other candidates are allocated to them.

• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Localism Bill (now the Localism Act 2011)
• [2] Page of the Localism Bill as at the time of the vote containing clause 9HL of the New Part 1A of the Local Government Act 2000 inserted by Schedule 2 of the Localism Bill

Debate in Parliament | Source |