Here you can find frequently asked questions about the pre-election period.
Local government elections will take place on 7 May 2026. The pre-election period for local authorities will start from the publication of a notice of election. Pre-election period restrictions apply to all local authorities.
No. The Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity covers the full range of authorities.
Yes. In a general election year, the guidance applies to all local authorities, even if there are no local elections.
Council business continues so all sitting councillors, whether seeking re-election or not, should have regard for the Publicity Code.
Officers who hold politically restricted posts, or who are likely to be involved or employed in connection with the elections, should not take part in a political campaign or canvass on behalf of a political party or candidate. Please check local arrangements.
Trade unions themselves are not bound by the Code, but individual officers are, and must have regard to the Code.
Yes, but with limitations. Official, factual press statements about council decisions for public information purposes may still be issued. However, no publicity should deal with controversial issues or report views or proposals in a way which identifies them with individual councillors or groups of councillors.
Consultations should be considered very carefully during the pre-election period as it is a period of heightened sensitivity and should not be put out if they contravene pre-election rules.
The best approach could be to delay publication of the review until after the pre-election period. However, if there is an imperative to publish you should use another, non-political spokesperson.
Generally not; however if the timing of the event is unavoidable and postponing it would adversely affect local residents (for example the opening of the facility has been delayed by long-running work and postponing the opening will cause the council to lose income), you might choose to have the event hosted by a non-political spokesperson.
Schedule 5 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 covers the use of meeting rooms in school premises for parliamentary elections. This does not apply for years where no parliamentary elections are taking place. The Registration Officer is required to keep lists of such premises.
Councils are required to publicise details of the election and how to register to vote. Material relating to wider political issues should not be posted on official notice boards which may be seen by members of the public. This includes publicity issued by, or on behalf of, a trade union.
Councillors are free to talk to the media and issue press releases, but must not use council resources to do so.
Yes, as long as they don't use council resources (such as staff) to help them do it.
Councillors can continue, but must not use council resources (such as council twitter accounts, email accounts, telephones etc.) to do so.
A person remains as a 'councillor' and can refer to themselves as such until they retire on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election.
The guidance may vary by council. Generally reasonable requests by current members who are also candidates at the election to visit council establishments in the course of their council functions would be approved. Again, check local arrangements and any such visits must not be supported by the council's media team or council officers.
Yes they can. In fact it is to be expected. Councillors and those potentially standing for election can arrange to speak and canvass as long as these activities are not funded nor arranged by local authorities. The fact that the union is a charity has no bearing – the guidance applies to local authorities, not to other organisations.
Yes, if it is done in the ordinary course of business and meets all other pre-election period requirements.
A council’s duty to take particular care during periods of heightened sensitivity applies not only to local authority elections but to any election taking place within the area of the local authority, including a general election, a police and crime commissioner election and an election to a combined authority.
The whole council must take care that its actions and communications in relation to those wards comply with the pre-election period restrictions. This means that the council should not make statements about candidates in those wards or make statements on controversial issues that are identified with the views of individual candidates or parties in those wards, or which may influence the voters in those wards. Council publications about other wards where there is no election will not be affected unless they bear directly on political issues in those wards where there is an election.