Pre-election publicity guidance Senedd Elections 2026

Legislation and Statutory Guidance

The Local Government Act 1986

Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986 prohibits Local Authorities from publishing any material "which, in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party."

Publicity is defined in section 6 Local Government Act 1986 as “any communication, in whatever form, addressed to the public at large or to a section of the public.” 

It is important to note that pre election rules restrict a wider range of activity than just publicity. The use of council facilities and resources (any such requests must be referred to the designated Single Point of Contact (SPOC) as set out below), the development of new policies, and the holding of events — including certain meetings involving elected officials — should all be carefully considered during the pre election period.

Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authority Publicity 

There is statutory guidance regarding publicity, for local authorities in Wales issued under section 4 of the Local Government Act 1986, and the Council must have regard to it. 

The key requirements of the both the Local Government Act 1986 and the Code of Recommended Practice are encapsulated below in the Pre-Election Guidance.

Pre-election guidance

When exercising decision making functions, the Council must give due regard to the following principles:

1. During the Election period the Council needs to ensure that it remains impartial and should strive to take a neutral stance.
2. The Council should not give prominence or publicity to any candidate, political party or matter which is politically controversial. During this period, care is therefore needed regarding matters presented to Council, Cabinet and Committees or matters which receive public attention and which are seen to be linked to individual candidates or a political party.
3. What constitutes a controversial issue is to some extent dependent on the local circumstance but in general they are likely to have characteristics such as, but not exclusively: 

1. 1. significantly divided public opinion, 
   2. lengthy periods of high profile debate and press interest and/or are those which involve the awarding of significant funding or contracts. 

The Constituency Returning Officer holds the final authority to determine whether an issue is controversial. Accordingly, any matter deemed potentially controversial should be referred to the Constituency Returning Officer by the relevant Director.

4. The Council should avoid issuing any publicity or doing anything or saying anything that could be perceived as seeking to influence voters. An example of this would be promoting an individual candidate or a political party such as, making references to individual candidates or parties in press releases. The exception to this is where legislation or regulation requires the publication of information.
5. Council publicity and /or any consultations and engagement should not deal with controversial or politically sensitive issues at a local or national level and where no statutory timetable applies, consideration should be given to whether the activity should be scheduled outside of the pre election period.
6. The Council should not report views, proposals or recommendations in such a way which identifies them with individual candidates and/or political parties which might gain electoral advantage as a result. 
7. Any publicity relating to central government policies or proposals should be presented in a balanced and factually accurate manner. 
8. The Council should not undertake engagements, arrange any proactive media events involving candidates or make any announcements or decisions, which are or could be construed as conferring electoral advantage on a particular candidate or a political party. 
9. No publicity should be given to events and projects that are funded by government grant funding during the pre-election period. If unsure please speak to the relevant Director, Constituency Returning Officer and/ or the Monitoring Officer/Marketing and Media Manager.  
10. Letters or e-mails from all candidates should receive equal treatment and Council facilities must not be used for the printing, translating and/or posting of candidates’ publicity.

The Members’ Code of Conduct provides that Members must not use Council resources for political purposes. Any services or facilities provided or requested by Elected Members, including requests for information from officers, should be used exclusively for the purposes of Council business or to enable the Member concerned to discharge their function as a councillor.

11. Employees must not provide briefings for use in election campaign debates/literature and publicity material relating to individual candidates or a political party. 
12. During the election period, meetings with candidates should be avoided unless they are regular meetings (for example, of a partnership body) in which the individuals concerned normally take part. Officers should not invite candidates, individuals attributed to a political party, or any elected members to meetings, conferences, openings or launches during the election period. 
13. Posters or stickers for any political party or/and any candidates’ should not be displayed in, on or within council offices, residential homes, depots, schools, vehicles etc. 
14. No photographs of candidates, individuals attributed to a political party, or any elected members will be issued or published by the council and care should be taken to ensure that no photographs inadvertently include the aforementioned. 
15. If a request is made to use any Council images which includes photographs, video clips or any other such materials, enquiries must be made as to how they are to be used. No Council photographs or other materials should be supplied to political group staff or anyone else during the pre-election period unless it has been verified and agreement has been given that they will not be used for campaigning purposes.
16. Council events must not be held on political party premises at any time.
17. Careful consideration should be given to specific requests to facilitate visits to Council-owned premises or venues by potential candidates or individuals associated with political parties. As such visits tend to be associated with photo opportunities and press publicity which may appear to the public as intended to promote a candidate or their party. 

To ensure compliance and consistency, all requests for visits or for use of premises from likely election candidates, their agents, political personalities or political parties shall be referred to the designated Single Point of Contact (SPOC):

Shelley Williams, Electoral Services Manager, CAElectoralServices@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

No use should be agreed without prior approval from the SPOC.

A decision on such requests shall be made by the SPOC in accordance with the principles set out in this guidance. The SPOC shall notify the requester of the decision, having sought advice from the Chief Executive (as Constituency Returning Officer) if appropriate. Where the position remains unclear, the advice of the Monitoring Officer shall be sought.

18. It may be necessary to suspend the hosting of materials produced by third parties, or to close public forums during this period to avoid breaching legal restrictions.
19. Councils are also forbidden to give financial or other assistance to other bodies to enable them to publish material which the authority itself may not publish. 
20. The LA should not assist with national or local political visits (they must be arranged by the political parties with neither cost nor resource implications for a local authority).

Campaigns and Consultations

Campaigns and consultation exercises should not deal with controversial or politically sensitive issues at a local or national level, as the Council must not appear to promote a candidate or their party. Where a statutory timetable does not apply, consideration should be given to whether the activity ought to be scheduled outside the pre-election period.

If the campaign is already running and is non-controversial (for example, on issues like recruitment or foster care) and would be a waste of public money to cancel or postpone them, then continue. However, if a campaign could be deemed likely to influence the outcome of the election, consideration should be given to stopping or deferring them. An example might be a campaign on an issue which has been subject of local political debate and/or disagreement.

Consultation exercises can take place during the election period provided there is no reference or link to individual candidates or a political party. However, 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. Any intention to launch any consultation or engagement exercise during this period must be approved by the Director, and Constituency Returning Officer.

Use of council facilities and resources

The Council must ensure legal compliance and consistency, regarding the use of Council resources and facilities. To ensure this, all requests for use of premises from likely election candidates, their agents, political personalities or political parties shall be referred to the designated Single Point of Contact (SPOC):
 
Shelley Williams, Electoral Services Manager, CAElectoralServices@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

No use should be agreed without prior approval from the SPOC, who will keep a record of such requests received and the decision taken.

A decision on such requests shall be made by the SPOC in accordance with the principles set out in this guidance. The SPOC shall notify the requester of the decision, having sought advice from the Chief Executive (as Constituency Returning Officer) if appropriate. Where the position remains unclear, the advice of the Monitoring Officer shall be sought.

Social Media

All social media platforms operated by the Council  are subject to the pre-election guidance. 

1. Particular care is required by all in relation to the use of social media platforms such as X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok. This includes but is not restricted to posting and responding. Corporate Social media editors should refer to the social media policy for further guidance on the use of corporate social media.
2. As per the Council press and media protocol, all contact with the press should be via the Marketing and Media team. Any Council statements that require to be published during this period will be attributed to a named senior officer or in the event of an emergency the Cabinet.
3. When using X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube or other platforms, officers are governed by the pre-election period guidance.
4. Political opinion posted by political parties or politicians and politically controversial images, updates or content should not be shared or re-tweeted.
5. Any politically controversial content should be immediately deleted from Local Authority Social Media Platforms and this should be monitored regularly.
6. Officers who hold politically restricted posts, or who are likely to be involved or employed in connection with the elections, are prohibited from undertaking political activities either in or outside the workplace. They should not publish material or engage in active political debate or re-tweet or publish content on social media which could affect support for a political party.

What is the council allowed to do?

The Council are allowed to:

1. Continue to discharge normal Council business (including budget consultations or determining planning and licencing applications, even if they are controversial).
2. 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.
3. Councils may also publish information relating to the election which is purely informative or factual such as the date of the election, how to obtain a postal vote and the location of polling stations. However, all factual information relating to an election must be published in the form specified by the relevant legislation or in such a way that it does not give prominence to information relating to any candidate, candidates or political party. Other authorities may reference this material on their own websites.
4. It is also acceptable for the Council to respond in appropriate circumstances to events and legitimate service enquires provided their answers are factual and not favourable to a political party. Members holding key political or civic positions should be able to comment in an emergency or where there is a genuine need for a response to an important event outside the authority’s control. Proactive events arranged in this period should not involve members likely to be standing for election.
5. The Council may publish factual information about candidates if requested to do so by the relevant Constituency Returning Officer or to counteract misleading, controversial or extreme (for example, racist/sexist) information.
6. Candidates and/or political parties can legitimately issue their own press releases or public information. It should be clear that these represent the views of those individual candidates/parties however and not that of the Council.

It is crucial that any decision made would be seen as fair and reasonable by the public and those standing for office.

If in any doubt, seek advice from the Constituency Returning Officer and/or monitoring officer, legal or communications colleagues.