A short guide to publicity during the pre-election period

In response to requests from council communications teams to produce simple guidance to communicating during the pre-election period, we are publishing this short guide.

This document provides advice on the publicity restrictions that should be observed during the pre-election period. It should be read in conjunction with any guidance produced by your own Returning Officer or Monitoring Officer, which provides specific advice depending on your local circumstances.

It is important to note that pre-election rules restrict activity wider than just publicity. Use of council facilities and resources; the member’s code of conduct, developing new policies and holding of events (including some meetings) featuring elected officials should all be carefully considered during a period of heightened sensitivity.

The pre-election period for local authorities will start from the publication of a notice of election, this will be no later than Tuesday 25 March.

Local government sometimes views this period as a time when communications have to shut down completely. This is not the case, and the ordinary functions of councils can continue – such as factual information about elections – but some restrictions may be imposed by law. This guidance sets out what this means in practice.

Scheduled elections are being held on Thursday 1 May 2025.

All seats will be contested in: 

• Fourteen county councils
• Eight unitary authorities
• One metropolitan district.

Elections in the City of London, which also has a unique governance structure, will be held in March 2025.

In addition, metro mayor elections will be taking place in the West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire. 

On 5 February, the Government announced that elections would be postponed to May 2026 in nine areas in order for them to pursue devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR). These areas are Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Thurrock, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity 2011 is based around seven principles to ensure that all communications activity:

• is lawful
• is cost effective
• is objective
• is even-handed
• is appropriate
• has regard to equality and diversity
• is issued with care during periods of heightened sensitivity.

This last principle, to ensure special care is taken during periods of heightened sensitivity, is of particular relevance during the pre-election period.

The publication of press notices and information regarding the holding of polls are exempt from these restrictions as is providing factual responses to specific requests for information, for example, information about how people can register to vote.

At all times, local authorities should ensure that publicity complies with all applicable statutory provisions, including the Code of Recommended Practice. Paid-for advertising must comply with the Advertising Standards Authority’s Advertising Codes.

In general, authorities should not issue any publicity which seeks to influence voters, ensure that publicity relating to policies and proposals from central government is balanced and factually accurate, and comply with laws which prohibit political advertising on television or radio.

The pre-election restrictions are governed by Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986², as amended in 1988.³ Essentially councils should ‘not publish any material which, in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party’.

Section 4⁴ of the Act makes clear that councils need to have regard to the Code of Recommended Practice. The essential points from the Code of Recommended Practice are:

• In general you should not issue any publicity which seeks to influence voters (an exception being situations covered by legislation or regulations directing publication of information for explanatory purposes).
• Particular care should be taken between the time of publication of a notice of an election and polling day.
• Consider suspending the hosting of third party material or closing public forums if these are likely to breach the Code of Recommended Practice.
• Do not publish any publicity on controversial issues or report views on proposals in a way which identifies them with candidates or parties.
• Publicity relating to individuals involved directly in the election should not be published unless expressly authorised by statute.
• You are allowed to publish factual information which identifies the names, constituencies and parties of candidates at elections.
• Section 4A of the Act enables the Secretary of State to issue a direction to an authority to comply with the Code.

Publicity is defined as ‘any communication, in whatever form, addressed to the public at large or to a section of the public’.

The first question to ask is ‘could a reasonable person conclude that you are spending public money to influence the outcome of the election?’ In other words it must pass the ‘is it reasonable’ test. When making your decision, you should consider the following:

You should not:

• produce publicity on matters which are politically controversial
• make references to individual candidates or parties in press releases
• arrange proactive media or events involving candidates
• issue photographs which include candidates
• supply council photographs or other materials to political group staff unless you have verified that they will not be used for campaigning purposes
• help with national political visits (as this would involve using public money to support a particular candidate or party). These should be organised by political parties with no cost or resource implications for the council.

You should also think carefully before you:

• Continue to run campaign material to support your own local campaigns. If the campaign is already running and is non-controversial (for example, on issues like recruitment, recycling or foster care) and would be a waste of public money to cancel or postpone them, then continue. However, you should always think carefully if a campaign could be deemed likely to influence the outcome of the election. In such cases you should stop or defer them. An example might be a campaign on an issue which has been subject of local political debate and/or disagreement.
• Launch any new consultations. Unless it is a statutory duty or considered normal council business, such as budget consultations. Councils should consider carefully before starting any new consultations or publish report findings from consultation exercises, which could be politically sensitive.

You are allowed to:

• continue to discharge normal council business (including budget consultations or determining planning applications, even if they are controversial)
• publish factual information to counteract misleading, controversial or extreme (for example, racist/sexist) information.

If you are in any doubt, seek advice from your returning officer and/or monitoring officer, legal or communications colleagues.

Ultimately, you must always be guided by the principle of fairness. It is crucial that any decision you take would be seen as fair and reasonable by the public and those standing for office.

When local council elections occur in an area without concurrent elections for Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) or other regional bodies, the MCA is still partially bound by the pre-election period rules. That is because MCAs are local authorities within the meaning of section 6 of the Local Government Act 1986. They are therefore subject to the same publicity restrictions in section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986 and are required by section 4 of that Act to have regard to the Code of Recommended Practice’s principles of impartiality and fairness during the pre-election period. That is not confined to publicity affecting MCA elections.

Scope of restrictions

While constituent councils facing elections are strictly bound by pre-election rules, MCAs are also required to act impartially and avoid activities that could influence the constituent council election outcome. Adhering to these rules ensures fairness and maintains public trust in the integrity of the electoral process.

The restrictions on MCAs are generally less stringent than those on the constituent councils who are holding the election, but MCAs must still act cautiously to avoid influencing the election. Even actions not directly related to the election could be perceived as influential, necessitating careful consideration.

The Cabinet Office guidance is applicable to all public bodies. For example, an MCA mayor should avoid making public statements about local council candidates or issues central to the election.

How pre-election rules might apply to MCAs:

Impartiality and fairness: Even if they are not holding elections. avoid activities that could be perceived as influencing the local council elections.

Restrictions on publicity and communications: MCAs should refrain from issuing publicity or making announcements that could influence voters in the local council elections or appear to favour or oppose specific candidates, parties, or issues. For instance, an MCA should avoid launching new policies or initiatives that could benefit a particular political group or candidate.

Limitations on decision-making: MCAs should avoid making politically sensitive decisions during the pre-election period, especially if these decisions could impact local council elections. This includes postponing high-profile announcements, major policy changes, or significant spending decisions.

Neutrality in public statements: MCA officials, including the mayor, must maintain political neutrality in their public statements and actions during the pre-election period. They should avoid commenting on issues or candidates related to the local council elections in a manner that could be seen as partisan.

Engagement with local councils: While MCAs may need to engage with local councils during the pre-election period, they must ensure that such engagement is impartial and does not influence the elections.

Guidance from the Cabinet Office: MCAs should adhere to Cabinet Office guidance on the pre-election period, applicable to all public bodies, regardless of their direct involvement in the elections.

Constituent councils: The councils holding elections are directly bound by pre-election period rules and must follow stricter restrictions. These councils must avoid any activities that could influence the election outcome, including publicity, decision-making, and public statements.

You can find more information from the following:

• referring to advice published by your Returning Officer and/or Monitoring Officer
• the Code of Recommended Practice
• annex A – template letter to councillors.

Read our FAQs on the pre-election period 

Dear councillor,

Guidelines and restrictions on decision-making and publicity during the pre-election period

As you will be aware, local government elections in England take place on 1 May 2025, so I thought it would be useful to remind you about the guidelines and restrictions on publicity during the pre-election period that starts from the publication of a notice of election.

Local government sometimes views this period as a time when communications has to shut down completely. This is not the case, and the ordinary functions of councils can continue – such as factual information about elections – but some restrictions may be imposed by law. This guidance sets out what this means in practice. . These restrictions apply to all elections happening during this period.

From the start of the pre-election period, the council must comply with restrictions outlined in Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986. In addition, a Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity published in 2011 makes clear that particular care should be taken in periods of heightened sensitivity, such as in the run-up to an election. The Act defines publicity as “any communication, in whatever form, addressed to the public at large or to a section of the public”.

Generally, the Act says that we should “not publish any material which, in whole, or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party”. The Code of Recommended Practice recommends that authorities should generally not issue any publicity which seeks to influence voters and that publicity relating to individuals involved directly in the election should not be published unless expressly authorised by statute.

Decision-making

In relation to decision-making within the council, the position remains that it is ‘business as usual’ unless there are very good reasons why this should not be the case. In the vast majority of cases, the pre-election period will have no impact on normal council business, including the approval of planning decisions.

What this means

• The primary restriction is on proactive publicity by the council, which particularly relates to candidates and other politicians involved directly in the election.
• The council can still issue media releases on factual matters provided that these do not identify individual councillors or groups of councillors.
• Councillors are still free to respond to enquiries received from the media in a personal capacity.
• Individual councillors can issue their own statements, write letters to the local newspaper(s) for publication, contact the media directly or say what they like in a personal capacity, but must not use council resources to do so.

It is still possible for the council to issue statements on behalf of a councillor holding a key political or civic position provided it relates to important events which are outside the council’s control and can be shown to justify a member response. These occasions are likely to be rare and to be the exception, rather than the rule.

I hope this letter provides you with the general information you need for the pre-election period, but if you have specific concerns or queries, please feel free to contact xxxx.

Yours sincerely,

The LGA would like to thank LGcommunications, Coventry City Council, Warwickshire County Council and Eastleigh Borough Council in the creation of this document.