A petition signed by 5% of voters, about 14,350 people, can force a vote on scrapping Croydon's elected mayor. What the 2026 law changed and what a yes means.
Croydon residents can now force a referendum on scrapping the borough’s directly elected mayor. A change in the law this summer cut the lock on the 2021 result from ten years to four, and those four years have run out.
A petition signed by 5% of the borough’s electors would be enough to trigger a vote. The Mayor of Croydon election in May was held on an electorate of 286,933. Five per cent of that is about 14,350 people.
What changed
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 rewrote the rules on how councils are run. Its Schedule 29 came into force on 29 June 2026.
Under the old rules, a council that held a governance referendum could not hold another for ten years. The Act cut that to four years, in section 9MF of the Local Government Act 2000.
Croydon’s referendum was held on 7 October 2021. Four years from that date ended in October 2025, so nothing in the law now stops a second vote.
The two ways it could happen
Because the elected mayor was chosen in a referendum, it can only be removed by one. Section 9M of the 2000 Act says any change a council makes to a system approved by referendum must itself be approved in a referendum.
That leaves two routes to the ballot box:
- A petition from residents. Under the petition regulations, it needs signatures from 5% of the local government electors on the register.
- A vote of full council. Councillors could pass a resolution to change the system, which would then go to a referendum.
The 2011 regulations require the council to publish the exact 5% figure each February. We could not find a current figure on the council’s website, so the 14,350 above is our calculation from the May 2026 electorate.
What the choice would be
The only alternative on offer is a council leader and cabinet. The Act amended section 9KA so that a council with an elected mayor may move to a leader and cabinet and nothing else. The committee system, where decisions are shared out between committees of councillors, is not an option for Croydon.
It would also be a one-way door. Schedule 29 stops any council from starting a new mayor and cabinet system. It also says a council running a leader and cabinet must not stop running one. If Croydon voted the elected mayor away, it could not bring the post back later.
A referendum decides which system the council uses. It is not a recall vote on a named person.
How Croydon got here
In October 2021, residents voted heavily for the elected mayor model:
- 47,165 votes for a directly elected mayor
- 11,519 votes for a leader and cabinet
- turnout of 58,897, or 21%
The first mayor was elected in May 2022. Jason Perry, the Conservative, was re-elected on 7 May 2026 by a narrow margin, according to the council’s results page:
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Perry | Local Conservatives | 35,871 |
| Rowenna Davis | Labour and Co-operative | 34,758 |
| Peter Underwood | Green | 19,404 |
| Ben Flook | Reform UK | 14,467 |
| Richard Howard | Liberal Democrats | 7,815 |
Three other candidates took 4,626 votes between them. Mr Perry’s lead over Labour was 1,113 votes.
Is anyone trying?
Not yet, as far as the public record shows. We found no petition presented to the council and no motion tabled by councillors. The agenda for the next full council meeting, on 9 December, has not been published.
What it means for you
- You can start or sign a petition. It would need roughly 14,350 valid signatures from people on Croydon’s electoral register to force a vote.
- A referendum would be about the system, not the person. The choice would be an elected mayor or a council leader chosen by councillors.
- A switch could not be undone. Under the 2026 Act, Croydon could not return to an elected mayor later.
- Check you are registered. Only people on the register can sign a valid petition or vote. You can register on GOV.UK.
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