Hundreds of Mancs sign a petition asking to vote in London’s mayoral elections

So far more than 1.500 people from Greater Manchester have signed

22:22, 11 May 2025Updated 22:23, 11 May 2025

Do you want to a say in whether Sadiq Khan remains mayor of London?(Image: Dan Kitwood, Getty Images)

Greater Mancunians get to vote for their local councillor, their MP and their mayor – you might think that’s quite enough democracy for now.

Yet there are calls to give you yet another vote. And rather incredibly, were these to succeed, you’d also get to vote for the mayor of Greater London.

A petition is underway to extend the vote for the Mayor of London to all UK residents, supposedly because the capital exerts so much influence on the rest of the nation that residents elsewhere should have a say in who leads London.

The petition was launched on Friday (May 9) and will remain open for six months, as per the UK Parliament website regulations. It was started by a man named John Taylor and at the time of writing has amassed over 36,000 signatures.

Of those, in excess of 1,500 people from Greater Manchester have so far signed the petition.

Once a petition reaches 10,000 signatures, the government will formally respond. And at 100,000 signatures, the request will be considered by the Petitions Committee for a Parliamentary debate.

The petition reads: “Only people who live in Greater London are allowed to vote for candidates in the Mayoral elections.

“We think London carries so much influence across the globe and the majority of UK residents have no say as to who ‘heads up’ and manages our great city, and we should. London belongs to us all.

“We believe London, our Capital City, is different to every other city in the country and belongs to every man, woman and child throughout the UK. It is our largest city and is one of the most influential cities across the globe.

“As such, we think all UK residents should have a say as to who holds the position of Chief Executive of the Greater London Authority.

“When it comes to voting for our London Mayor I would like Parliament to allow all eligible UK residents to be able to vote, not just Londoners.”

So far the number of Mancs signing the petition remains small. Below is the breakdown per constituency:

Altrincham and Sale West: 46

Ashton-under-Lyne: 70

Blackley and Middleton South: 39

Bolton North East: 55

Bolton South and Walkden: 63

Bolton West: 62

Bury North: 61

Bury South: 50

Cheadle: 48