What not to do
Museums and the election - Meeting candidates
Writing to candidates - Doorstep canvassing
Marginal constituencies - What not to do - After the election
Finding out more
Writing to candidates - Doorstep canvassing
Marginal constituencies - What not to do - After the election
Finding out more
There are three principal legal barriers to activity:
· The Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1983, which principally applies during the election period.
· Charity law, which will constrain your activity if your museum has charitable status.
· Controls on the political activity of senior public employees.
Representation of the People Act
The RPA bans expenditure by anyone, other than a candidate, that promotes the election of a candidate by:
· holding a public meeting or organising a display
· issuing adverts, circulars or publications
· presenting a candidate or their views to electors or disparaging other candidates
The controls concern expenditure, so providing you are not breaching charity law (see below), any free literature is probably fine.
You can write or talk to the press freely and regular publications are exempt, so you can carry general election issues in your own periodicals or regular newsletters.
Election meetings
During an election period candidates can be invited as guests to museum occasions and events, such as exhibition openings, which simply provide an informal opportunity to meet people.
Similarly, private meetings between your organisation and a candidate are unlikely to be considered ‘promotion’ of a candidate.
On the other hand, open public meetings become a problematic area for any publicly-funded body or charitable organisation during this period.
You should seek advice if you feel uncertain about the law relating to any activity you are proposing.
However, if you adhere to the following rules you would not be held to be ‘promoting’ any particular candidates:
· You should invite candidates from every party to speak.
· If any candidate is unavailable, you should ask for a short statement which can be read out.
· The chair of the meeting should be neutral and not make any comments or policy pronouncements that could be held to support one or more parties or oppose another.
If you have a particular reason for not wishing to invite all candidates then you can still hold a meeting providing the candidates who are speaking agree in advance to declare the costs of the event (e.g. publicity and premises) in their accounts.
Due to spending restrictions, leading candidates are likely to be reluctant to carry costs, but third place candidates may be more accommodating.
Charity law
The Charity Commission Code (CC9) Speaking Out – Guidance on Campaigning and Political Activity by Charities, published in March 2008, is the relevant advisory document on charities and political activity.
It does not have the force of law but would be taken into account in any court case.
The guidelines make it clear that charities are not barred from all political activity:
· They can contribute to public debate on issues that concern their work.
· They can pursue political activity if it will further the aims of the charity.
· They must be particularly careful to do nothing that could be seen as persuading members of the public to vote for or against a particular party or candidate.
· Charities must present information in a factual, accurate and undistorted way and, if they wish to persuade a politician of their case, must rely on well-founded, reasoned argument and not just public pressure.
Directors are advised to clear any planned activity with their governing bodies. Copies of the full guidelines are available from the Charity Commission website: http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publications/cc9.asp
Public employees
Legislation and codes significantly restrict publicity by public bodies and their employees during the pre-election period. This is to ensure the public sector does not use its position to interfere in the public political debate about spending priorities.
For local government refer to the Local Government Act (1986) and the Code of recommended practice on local authority publicity (www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/coderecommended), plus similar documents for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Senior employees within the public sector are prohibited from taking an active part in public campaigning or from making public statements on politically controversial issues.
Crucially, if you are in any doubt, consult your HR department and ensure you abide by your employer’s guidelines.
Downloads
Museums and the election (pdf)
· The Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1983, which principally applies during the election period.
· Charity law, which will constrain your activity if your museum has charitable status.
· Controls on the political activity of senior public employees.
Representation of the People Act
The RPA bans expenditure by anyone, other than a candidate, that promotes the election of a candidate by:
· holding a public meeting or organising a display
· issuing adverts, circulars or publications
· presenting a candidate or their views to electors or disparaging other candidates
The controls concern expenditure, so providing you are not breaching charity law (see below), any free literature is probably fine.
You can write or talk to the press freely and regular publications are exempt, so you can carry general election issues in your own periodicals or regular newsletters.
Election meetings
During an election period candidates can be invited as guests to museum occasions and events, such as exhibition openings, which simply provide an informal opportunity to meet people.
Similarly, private meetings between your organisation and a candidate are unlikely to be considered ‘promotion’ of a candidate.
On the other hand, open public meetings become a problematic area for any publicly-funded body or charitable organisation during this period.
You should seek advice if you feel uncertain about the law relating to any activity you are proposing.
However, if you adhere to the following rules you would not be held to be ‘promoting’ any particular candidates:
· You should invite candidates from every party to speak.
· If any candidate is unavailable, you should ask for a short statement which can be read out.
· The chair of the meeting should be neutral and not make any comments or policy pronouncements that could be held to support one or more parties or oppose another.
If you have a particular reason for not wishing to invite all candidates then you can still hold a meeting providing the candidates who are speaking agree in advance to declare the costs of the event (e.g. publicity and premises) in their accounts.
Due to spending restrictions, leading candidates are likely to be reluctant to carry costs, but third place candidates may be more accommodating.
Charity law
The Charity Commission Code (CC9) Speaking Out – Guidance on Campaigning and Political Activity by Charities, published in March 2008, is the relevant advisory document on charities and political activity.
It does not have the force of law but would be taken into account in any court case.
The guidelines make it clear that charities are not barred from all political activity:
· They can contribute to public debate on issues that concern their work.
· They can pursue political activity if it will further the aims of the charity.
· They must be particularly careful to do nothing that could be seen as persuading members of the public to vote for or against a particular party or candidate.
· Charities must present information in a factual, accurate and undistorted way and, if they wish to persuade a politician of their case, must rely on well-founded, reasoned argument and not just public pressure.
Directors are advised to clear any planned activity with their governing bodies. Copies of the full guidelines are available from the Charity Commission website: http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publications/cc9.asp
Public employees
Legislation and codes significantly restrict publicity by public bodies and their employees during the pre-election period. This is to ensure the public sector does not use its position to interfere in the public political debate about spending priorities.
For local government refer to the Local Government Act (1986) and the Code of recommended practice on local authority publicity (www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/coderecommended), plus similar documents for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Senior employees within the public sector are prohibited from taking an active part in public campaigning or from making public statements on politically controversial issues.
Crucially, if you are in any doubt, consult your HR department and ensure you abide by your employer’s guidelines.
Downloads
Museums and the election (pdf)
