London Mayoral Election 2021: Deadline day for wannabe London mayors

People jog along the riverside path past Tower Bridge and City Hall in London. Picture date: Thursday January 28, 2021.

Anyone hoping to be the next mayor of London faces a deadline today to submit their applications.

Nomination papers for the delayed May 6th poll must be handed in by 4pm.

It costs £10,000 to join the contest. The deposit is lost if candidates get fewer than 5% of the votes.

Candidates also need the signatures of 66 voters - two from each of the 32 London boroughs plus the City of London.

Opinion polls suggest current Labour mayor Sadiq Khan is on course for a second term. His main challenger is Conservative Shaun Bailey, a member of the London Assembly.

Assembly member Sian Berry is fighting the election for the Green Party. The Liberal Democrats candidate is former MEP Luisa Porritt.

The full list of candidates, including independents, is expected to be published on Thursday.

Actor Laurence Fox, rapper Drillminister, an American businessman, Brian Rose and Piers Corbyn, the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said they would stand.

The mayor is responsible for a budget of £19.34bn. Whoever wins gets control of Transport for London as well as the power to decide the capital’s policing strategy.