Campaigners are a key part of a healthy democracy. You should be able to put your arguments to voters without receiving abuse and intimidation. It’s equally important, however, to make sure that you don’t behave in a way that damages the integrity of the electoral process.
We have developed six principles to make sure everyone involved in the democratic process is supported and protected from abuse and intimidation. They set a minimum standard of behaviour for all candidates and campaigners.
Though these principles are advisory, as you campaign in the upcoming May elections, we urge you to follow them.
The six principles
1. Issues-based campaigning
- Robust debate and differing views are part of a healthy democracy. People are entitled to hold and express opinions that others may strongly disagree with.
- Candidates and campaigners are expected to have respect for, and tolerate, individuals who hold different views to them.
- Campaigns should be focused on policies and issues and an opponent’s political record and actions, not personal attacks.
2. Respect for everyone participating
- Respect means politeness and courtesy in behaviour, speech, and written communications.
- Respect applies equally to online and offline conduct and should be shown to and by all those involved in the democratic process, including candidates, campaigners, agents, volunteers, voters, and staff working to deliver the elections.
3. Safety of everyone participating
- Everyone involved in the democratic process should feel safe.
- Campaigns should be conducted free from abuse and not impact any person's physical or mental wellbeing.
- Any form or threat of violence, coercion, harassment, intimidation, or incitement to cause public unrest is unacceptable.
4. Respectful communication
- Candidates and campaigners should communicate with a tone of respect for the people involved, even when debating, disagreeing or holding others to account.
- Character defamation, the use of hate speech, or inflammatory or discriminatory language is unacceptable.
- Everyone should consider the impact of the language they use on others and the wider democratic process, both online and offline.
5. Honest campaigning
- Campaigns should be honest and truthful.
- Deliberate misinformation and disinformation are unacceptable. This includes the use of technology to misrepresent the views or actions of others through AI generated disinformation.
- Parties and candidates should not use or amplify information, which is false or could mislead voters, including deepfake material.
- Campaigns should be conducted in an open and transparent manner, avoiding any actions that could lead a voter to question motives or intentions.
6. Acceptance of lawful outcomes
- Candidates, political parties and campaigners should uphold respect for the rule of law and the legitimacy of the electoral process.
- Candidates, political parties and campaigners must commit to respecting certified results and pursuing any disputes only through lawful and legitimate channels.
The principles are advisory and set out good practice. They are not intended to be formal guidance and we won’t adjudicate individual cases where you believe other campaigners haven’t followed the principles.
The principles are the start, not an end point, to a collaborative approach to campaigning across political parties. After the May elections, we will assess and evaluate how the principles worked in practice. Using these findings, we will develop a detailed approach to expanding the principles into a full code of conduct.