Voting for the Assembly
52.The Assembly seats deriving from the London vote will be allocated according to the De Hondt formula, a commonly-used way of allocating seats under proportional representation. When allocating seats in the Assembly on the basis of the London vote, the Greater London Returning Officer (defined in section 29) considers the party affiliation of the constituency candidates who have been returned as members of the Assembly and the number of London votes cast for that party. He then divides the party's total London vote by the number of seats that party has won plus one (one is added to avoid dividing by zero where no seat has been won). The result is known as the party's London figure. Independent candidates are given a London figure equal to their London vote.
53.The first seat is then allocated to the party or individual with the highest London figure. When a seat is allocated to a party, its London figure is recalculated on the basis of the new total number of seats plus one. The next seat is then allocated on the basis of the highest London figure at that stage, after which the winning party's London figure is similarly recalculated, until all 11 seats have been allocated. Should two parties tie for the last seat, their figures are recalculated as though each party had one more seat and the one whose London figure is the highest gets the seat. If the tie continues the matter is to be settled by lot. A threshold for election as a London member of the Assembly is set in paragraph 7 of Schedule 2. A party or independent candidate failing to win at least 5% of the total of London votes will not be allocated any of the London member seats.
54.A worked example is set out below:
55.In this worked example, the fourteen Assembly constituency seats are shared between parties A, B, and C as follows:
| Party A: | 6 seats |
| Party B: | 5 seats |
| Party C: | 3 seats |
56.The eleven London-wide seats are contested by the three parties and by one independent candidate. The votes cast are as follows:
| Party A: | 1,857,000 votes |
| Party B: | 1,500,000 votes |
| Party C: | 900,000 votes |
| Independent: | 230,000 votes |
| Total Votes Cast: | 4,487,000 |
57.The eleven London-wide seats are then distributed on the basis of these figures as follows:
Guideline for the calculation of London-wide seats:
In line with the De Hondt Formula (see above), 1 seat is added to each party's constituency seat total.
The London-wide vote for that party or individual is divided by this number (i.e. by the number of Constituency seats, plus 1).
The party or individual with the largest number wins a seat. (Party A in the example wins the first seat).
The winner's seat total is increased by one, and the calculation is repeated.
This time, Party B has the largest number and wins the seat.
This process continues until all 11 seats are allocated.
Illustration
| London- wide | Party A | Party B | Party C | Independent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Seat | 1,857,000÷7 = 265,286 | 1,500,000÷6 = 250,000 | 900,000÷4 = 225,000 | 230,000÷1 = 230,000 | Party A |
| 2nd Seat | 1,857,000÷8 = 232,125 | 1,500,000÷6 = 250,000 | 900,000÷4 =225,000 | 230,000÷1 = 230,000 | Party B |
| 3rd Seat | 1,857,000÷8 = 232,125 | 1,500,000÷7 = 214,286 | 900,000÷4 =225,000 | 230,000÷1 = 230,000 | Party A |
| 4th Seat | 1,857,000÷9 = 206,333 | 1,500,000÷7 = 214,286 | 900,000÷4 =225,000 | 230,000÷1 = 230,000 | Independent |
| 5th Seat | 1,857,000÷9 = 206,333 | 1,500,000÷7 = 214,286 | 900,000÷4 =225,000 | 230,000÷2 = 115,000 | Party C |
| 6th Seat | 1,857,000÷9 = 206,333 | 1,500,000÷7 = 214,286 | 900,000÷5 = 180,000 | 230,000÷2 = 115,000 | Party B |
| 7th Seat | 1,857,000÷9 = 206,333 | 1,500,000÷8 = 187,500 | 900,000÷5 = 180,000 | 230,000÷2 = 115,000 | Party A |
| 8th Seat | 1,857,000÷10 = 185,700 | 1,500,000÷8 = 187,500 | 900,000÷5 = 180,000 | 230,000÷2 = 115,000 | Party B |
| 9th Seat | 1,857,000÷10 = 185,700 | 1,500,000÷9 = 166,667 | 900,000÷5 = 180,000 | 230,000÷2 = 115,000 | Party A |
| 10th Seat | 1,857,000÷11= 168,818 | 1,500,000÷9 = 166,667 | 900,000÷5 = 180,000 | 230,000÷2 = 115,000 | Party C |
| 11th Seat | 1,857,000÷11 = 168,818 | 1,500,000÷9 = 166,667 | 900,000÷6 = 150,000 | 230,000÷2 = 115,000 | Party A |
| Total FPTP Seats | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total London-wide Seats | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total Seats | 11 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
