There are currently 96,296 Polish citizens on the electoral roll in the 33 London Boroughs who are eligible to vote in the local elections on Thursday May 5th. This constitutes 1.57% of the total electorate of 6,116,260 in Greater London (ONS statistics - December 2020). The Federation of Poles in Great Britain CIO, which is an umbrella structure for Polish organizations in Great Britain and has served as the voice of the Polish community in this country since 1946, is urging as many UK citizens of Polish origin, as well as Polish citizens resident in the UK, to take an active part in the local elections in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
The various Polish communities throughout London have been in the forefront in the massive generous relief effort for Ukrainian refugees, since the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th. Polish community centres in London and elsewhere have acted as the first hub in their local area for financial and material donations to assist Ukraine and its refugees. Polish voters in London will want to see that local council candidates support continuing the relief effort for Ukrainians, and they have been critical of the administrative delays in offering Ukrainian refugees asylum in Britain.
There is also considerable concern, already voiced by Dr Włodzimierz Mier-Jędrzejowicz, President of the Federation of Poles, in his letter on 24th June 2021 to the Prime Minister, at delays and mistakes in granting full settled status to so many Polish and other EU citizens.
There has been more coverage of these elections than previously in the Polish London media, both in printed magazines and on Polish websites. Our member organizations have been appealing to their members to ensure they are registered to vote and to participate actively in the local elections. For instance, Polish Migrants Organize for Change (POMOC) is campaigning to maximize the number of Polish female voters, and are prioritizing registration drives for all potential Polish electors in Ealing, Hounslow, Lewisham and Waltham Cross.
The attached statistical table indicates a further gradual reduction in the total number of Polish electors in London. This was foreseeable in view of decisions by some Polish families to return to Poland following uncertainties over settled status, while others have opted to apply for UK citizenship and consequently no longer appear as Polish citizens on the electoral roll. In fact, there is a 3.7% drop in the number of Polish electors in relation to the previous year and a 12.6% reduction in comparison to 2018, when the Polish electorate statistics had finally peaked in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit Referendum.
As usual, the largest concentration of Polish electors are in Ealing (12377) and Hounslow (7570), and then Brent (5274), Croydon (5029), Barnet (4594), Haringey (4537), Merton (4608) and Hillingdon (4501).
There appear to be a total 55 candidates in London of Polish extraction. They are on the lists of 19 of the London Boroughs. These candidates include 27 Conservatives (18 of them in Hackney and 4 in Haringey), 7 Labour, 8 Liberal Democrats, 11 Greens and 2 from other parties. (For details see second attachment).
For any further information please contact Wiktor Moszczynski on telephone 07786471833 or by email wikmos@gmail.com
Wiktor Moszczynski,
Research Officer
Federation of Poles in Great Britain, 238-240 King Street, London W6 0RF