Elections for the Mayor of London and London Assembly will take place on 6 May 2021. There are also local elections taking place at the same time - including two referenda about the future of executive governance arrangements in Tower Hamlets and Newham - and local council by-elections in Redbridge, Newham and Hackney.
A pre-election period, also known as Purdah, has begun (on Monday 22 March) and is in place until the day after election day. During this period there are specific restrictions on activities to avoid the actions of public bodies distracting or having an influence on election campaigns.
NHS England has issued some detailed guidance for the pre-election period. As NHS organisations are expected to follow the restrictions, here are some key points and advice:
- Please avoid anything which would draw the CCG/NHS into political debate. The NHS should not be seen to be supporting a particular party, or do anything which could influence voters.
- Please avoid accepting any requests from politicians to visit your practice or a local NHS vaccination clinic. This is because the same approach must also be applied to all visit requests from candidates/parties to avoid any question of bias. This means, if we agree to a visit from a candidate, all other candidates should be invited to visit which could be extremely disruptive to services and resource intensive on staff.
- Please also avoid arranging any proactive media, and do not let any political candidates use NHS premises for meetings, photo opportunities or for distributing any campaign materials.
- If asked, you can provide factual explanations of NHS policy and decisions, but NHS representatives should not take part in debates and events which may be politically controversial.
- NHS organisations and staff should continue to adhere to Government restrictions and public health advice to control COVID-19. All business as usual activities necessary for the safety and quality of patient care, including our work for the vaccination programme, should continue. However we should not make any new decisions or announcements of policy or strategy, or on large and/or contentious procurement contracts.
Your local CCG communications team is here to support you. Please contact them, or the NEL communications team if you are approached by any political candidates or local media, or would like any further advice during this time.