Political material

Political material is material whose sole or primary purpose can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence the public, or any section of the public, to give support to or withhold support from:

  • one or more political parties
  • a particular candidate or a particular future candidate (in their capacity as such)
  • a particular elected office-holder (in their capacity as such)
  • political parties, candidates, future candidates or elected office-holders that are linked by their support for or opposition to particular policies, or by holding particular opinions
  • other categories of candidates, future candidates or elected office-holders that are not based on policies or opinions – for example, candidates who went to a state school, or MPs who grew up in their constituency
  • the holding of a referendum, or a particular outcome of a referendum
  • any combination of the above

The following are examples of digital paid adverts that constitute political material:

Search engine ad promoting a candidate that reads "Vote Grey Party. Vote Grey Party this May. Promoted by the Grey Party, 110 High St, Engleston, AB12 3CD"

Political material whose sole or primary purpose can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence the public, or any section of the public, to give support to a political party.

Social media ad promoting a candidate that reads “Vote. Vote Jane Doe for the Grey Party”. There is an imprint in the disclaimer text that reads “Promoted by John Smith on behalf of Jane Doe, both of 110 High Street Engleston, AB12 3CD”.

Political material whose sole or primary purpose can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence the public, or any section of the public, to give support to a particular candidate.

Search engine ad attacking an officer that reads "Jane Doe has failed Engleston. Sign the recall petition. Promoted by the campaign group, 62 High St Engleston AB12 3CD"

Political material whose sole or primary purpose can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence the public, or any section of the public, to withhold support from a particular elected office-holder.

Social media ad with an image that reads "Use your vote to save Engleston Library. Vote for a candidate who has signed our pledge." An imprint at the bottom of the image reads "Promoted by Campaigners Ltd, 98 High Street, Engleston, AB12 3CD"

Political material whose sole or primary purpose can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence the public, or any section of the public, to withhold support from a particular elected office-holder.

Social media ad with an image that reads "Vote for a candidate who lives and works in Engleston". An imprint at the bottom of the image reads "Promoted by Campaigners Ltd, 98 High Street, Engleston, AB12 3CD".

Political material whose sole or primary purpose can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence the public, or any section of the public, to give support to or withhold support from a category of candidates linked by something other than their support for a policy.

Social media ad promoting a referendum that reads “Yes. Vote YES in the referendum”. There is an imprint in the disclaimer text that reads “Promoted by The Campaign Group, 62 High Street, Engleston, AB12 3CD”.

Political material whose sole or primary purpose can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence the public, or any section of the public, to give support to the outcome of a referendum.

Material can be political material at any time, not just in election or referendum periods. For example, you could pay for a digital advert promoting a party or elected office-holder at any time, without it being related to an electoral event.

Paid adverts only need an imprint if their sole or primary purpose can reasonably be regarded as one of those on the list above.

For example, a sponsored Facebook post of a comedian doing a routine criticising a government minister would not usually need an imprint, because the primary purpose of the clip is usually reasonably regarded as being to promote the comedian.

If an organisation publishes digital material, the sole or primary purpose of any given piece of material will not always be the same as the overall purpose of the organisation. It will be a matter of fact in each case whether the sole or primary purpose of any particular piece of material can reasonably be regarded as being one of those in the list above.

In particular, where the primary purpose of a specific piece of material is to do with a campaign issue itself and not any of those on the list above, then it will not be political material.

For example, suppose a campaigning organisation in 2023 has as its main objective to bring back the death penalty. It runs three sets of paid adverts.

The first criticises a political party which is opposed to the death penalty. The primary purpose of this material can reasonably be regarded as to influence the public to withhold support from the party. Therefore it requires an imprint.

The second argues for holding a referendum on reinstating the death penalty. The primary purpose of this material can reasonably be regarded as to influence the public to give support to the holding of a referendum. Therefore it requires an imprint.

The third advert lists a number of positive predictions about the effects of reinstating the death penalty. The primary purpose of this material can reasonably be regarded as to influence the public to support the death penalty. Therefore it does not require an imprint.

Although the organisation has an overarching primary organisational purpose, the different pieces of digital material it publishes have distinct primary purposes. This means that some of the material requires an imprint and some does not, depending on the facts.

Last updated: 2 November 2023