Double standards over local elections

The Government are nothing more than hypocrites for ruling local elections can go ahead but restricting the ability of councillors and candidates to campaign, says the Lib Dem group leader in the Local Government Association.

"There is democratic principle at stake here. If it is not safe to campaign for an election, then it is not safe to hold those elections," said Councillor Howard Sykes.

This view was echoed by Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper last week.

"We want the government to publish the public health advice. If that government advice says it's not safe to campaign then clearly the democratic right of the public to hear from and meet their representatives isn't being fulfilled and therefore the elections might not be able to go ahead," she told the Radio 4 Today programme.

"I do think it is about the democratic process - the the public have a right to hear from their representatives, activists have a democratic right to go and campaign. So if it's not safe to campaign, it's not safe to hold those elections."

A letter from the government last week said current Covid restrictions "do not support door to door campaigning or leafleting by individual political party activists". It is still permissable, however, for material to be delivered by paid-for delivery services, couriers and the Royal Mail.