Election of Sheriffs

The office of Sheriff is one of the oldest civic offices in the City of London and is recorded in the laws of the Anglo Saxon period in the seventh century. In early London, officials known as wicreeves, portreeves and sheriffs exercised the authority of the king over the citizens. They were responsible for collecting royal revenues and, as Justiciars, enforcing royal justice. Before the Norman Conquest, London and Middlesex formed a single shrievalty, and there are several instances of the same individual serving as Sheriff of both.

In 1132, Henry the First granted the citizens of London the rare privilege of electing their own Justiciar to hear pleas of the Crown, together with the right to appoint the Sheriff of Middlesex. In 1199, the right to elect the Sheriffs of both London and Middlesex was formally granted to the citizens, although the definition of who counted as a citizen remained unclear until 1475. In practice, the Lord Mayor continued to appoint one of the Sheriffs until 1694. For centuries thereafter, two Sheriffs were elected annually as joint Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, a practice that continued until the Local Government Act of 1881. From that date, the citizens no longer appointed a Sheriff of Middlesex and the two Sheriffs have since been elected for the City of London alone.

Since 1475, the responsibility for electing the Sheriffs has rested with the Livery. The Election Act promoted by Robert Walpole in 1725 confirmed that a Liveryman must have held their status for at least one year to be eligible to vote, and this requirement remains unchanged today.

The election of the Sheriffs is held on Midsummer Day, the twenty fourth of June, each year at noon, except when the date falls on a weekend. All Liverymen with one year’s standing are entitled to vote and admission to Guildhall is by ticket. Liverymen are expected to arrive in good time in order to be seated by eleven thirty before the arrival of the Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor, the Aldermen and the senior civic officers then process into the Great Hall shortly before midday.

When the meeting begins, the candidates in nomination are announced. The Lord Mayor and the senior Aldermen, together with the Town Clerk and the Recorder, withdraw from the Great Hall before voting takes place and return only after it has concluded. The Shrieval candidates then address the assembled Liverymen. Once all addresses have been given, the Common Serjeant oversees the voting process.

If the election is contested, votes are cast by a show of hands, often assisted by coloured cards to facilitate counting. The Common Serjeant calls each candidate in turn, beginning with the Aldermanic candidate, and Liverymen may cast up to two votes.

After a short count, the Common Serjeant and the Sheriffs provide the results to the candidates and their election agents. Candidates may request a formal poll. However, it has in recent years been informally agreed that if the margin between candidates is greater than ten percent, the result will stand without calling for a poll, in order to allow the Livery to know the outcome on the day. If the count is close or no such agreement is reached, any candidate may require a poll. If demanded, the poll takes place two weeks after Common Hall, followed by Adjourned Common Hall at which the final result is announced. The poll itself follows the style of a conventional local or national election, with poll cards and voting booths at Guildhall. Postal voting is not permitted due to the age of the governing legislation.

If no poll is demanded, the result is announced in the Great Hall by the Common Cryer, ending with the proclamation “God Save the King”, to which all Liverymen reply in unison. The Lord Mayor and the civic procession then leave in the order opposite to that of their arrival, after which others may depart. The Sheriffs Elect formally assume office later in September at the Admission of Sheriffs ceremony.