Community cohesion and elections – a legal plan
The legal duties on local authorities are significant at election time, writes Paul Feild. When it comes to maintaining community cohesion, planning ahead and working closely with partners such as the police are vital.
The need for the community to have confidence in the election process is at the heart of the democratic process. The rise of the internet, the wide availability of desk-top publishing and the world of internet video also mean that the risk of relatively small parties producing quite inflammatory material which will undermine community cohesion has never been greater, particularly at election time.
It is therefore vital that the Returning Officer and the supporting team are well prepared and resourced. The smart thing to do is to plan ahead. This is a short note on the issues relating to community cohesion to think about when drafting your election legal support plan.
The Legal Framework
First of all, get familiar with the key legislative provisions:
- Race Relations Act as amended
- Public Order Act as amended
- Representation of the People Act
- Human Rights Act
- Local Government Acts
- Code of Practice on Local Government Publicity
Establish a working party with your partners
The election(s) needs to be conducted in a visibly professional and fair environment. This means that there must be an opportunity for free speech and freedom of association within the law. It is vital that the working relationship with partners such as the police is first class and well-informed. There should be clear lines of communication established so that an accurate picture is always at hand to ensure decisions are evidence based and well informed with clarity as to who will be the contact point.
Establish a rebuttal strategy and process for challenging false information
There is a clear responsibility on local authorities to promote equality and good race relations under the Race Relations Act 1976 (as amended). The Equalities and Human Rights Commission gives excellent guidance. Further, an authority needs to plan how it will respond to false information but at the same time avoid the risk of contravention of the Publicity Code for Local Government issued under Section 4(1) of the Local Government Act 1986.
The code has special provisions for elections from Paragraphs 40 to 42. But this does not stop the authority from putting the record straight, though of course it is vital to ensure that information is factual and objective. Professional legal and communications advice are essential to avoid rebuttal strategies appearing partisan.
The Secretary of State in February 2007, Ruth Kelly, gave an observation – at the launch of the interim statement of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion – which is well worth bearing in mind. She spoke about some of the leaflets distributed by the far right making claims about favourable treatment and housing arrangements for ethnic minorities and said:
“... As far-fetched as these myths can be, it’s not always so easy to deal with them. Yet I can't help thinking that we all – nationally and locally – need to be better at correcting gross falsehoods. And this is intimately linked with the third element of our approach – encouraging strong leadership that faces up to the far right. There is a challenge for local government here. Some councillors and officials aren’t aware of what they can and can’t say to quash the myths. Local officials need to know that they are perfectly entitled - even in a pre-election period ahead of the upcoming local elections - to challenge lies about asylum seekers and ethnic minorities…”
I reiterate this message. There is no legal reason to imply a local authority is restrained by the Code from putting the record straight as long as they stick to the facts even during the run-up to the ballot; indeed it would be a political decision not to intervene.
Good planning here would be to identify key contacts in all the services that can get the details reliably to hand. I would recommend that such information is cross checked by Service Heads before release.
Use of Council Premises
The Representation of the People Act provides that all lawful candidates have a right to use rooms in schools or public funded premises for public meetings. There is no right to use the premises for rallies or party meetings. It is vital to plan which list of places will be available at an early stage to avoid contrived requests for meetings in areas which may provoke distress. Consultation with the police when establishing suitable premises will reduce the risk of community concerns.
Working with partners
As observed above, the working relationship with community safety partners members is vital to ensure that elements do not use the election run-up and the count as a platform to spread hatred and damage community cohesion. If necessary powers such as injunctions can be invoked but be warned there would need to be very strong evidence to convince a court around election time to grant an injunction and it would be wise to assume that is unlikely to be an option.
So as an election or two is a complete certainty, I suggest now is a good time to start preparing!!
Paul Feild is a solicitor working in the public sector.
