HARROW Council is soundly confident it could handle two major elections taking place in London at the same time.

The London Assembly election review panel met last Tuesday to discuss the prospect of the national general election and the vote for the new London mayor falling on the same day in May 2020.

The Electoral Commission is currently preparing a series of reports on May’s elections to make recommendations to the government on the scheduling of the votes in 2020.

Panel chair Len Duvall, assembly member for Greenwich and Lewisham, described the confusion London hosting its ‘most complex’ election on the same day as a general could entail.

He said: “If the general election is to happen at the same time as the London elections, we need to know now. These things take years to coordinate. 

“Plans take two to three years to put in place and a ‘wait and see’ attitude is not an option.

“The government needs to make a call. Are we running both elections at the same time, or are we rescheduling the London elections, to avoid a perfect storm of confusion for voters?

“The call has to be made and it has to be made within the next 6 months. We need a decision soon.”

A spokesperson for Harrow Council who was not named said: “We have managed two elections on the same day before with no problems and we are confident that we can do this again.”

It is not yet known when the government will announce the dates of the elections.