Local and mayoral elections in England are to go ahead in May as planned, the government has confirmed, but with potential restrictions on campaigning, prompting Labour to warn that this must not disadvantage poorer parties.
Under a plan published on Friday by the Cabinet Office, polling stations will be fitted with screens and hand sanitiser, with councils allocated extra money to help make voting and the counting process safe amid coronavirus.
Voters will have to wear masks and will be encouraged to bring their own pen and pencil. Those who have to isolate or shield can nominate a proxy as late as 5pm on polling day, 6 May.
Electoral officials have been expecting the polls to take place and have already made plans for what could be some of the most logistically complicated elections held for decades.
As well as the elections due this year, people will also cast votes in polls postponed from last May. Along with this double set of council elections, there will be ballots for the London mayor and assembly, for a series of other mayors, and for police and crime commissioners (PCCs). In some places in England voters will be handed up to seven ballot papers.
Scotland and Wales are holding elections on the same day for their parliaments, and for PCCs in Wales. While these are also expected to take place, each UK nation organises its own elections.
One area not yet finalised is how parties and candidates will be able to campaign, with a plan due to be announced before the start of the formal election period, which will depend on whether social distancing measures have been relaxed by then.
The planning document notes that currently the only permissible forms of campaigning would be online, by telephone, or leaflets sent by post or other commercial delivery services.
Cat Smith, the shadow Cabinet Office minister whose brief covers elections, said that if a reliance on paid postage services remained in place it must not benefit richer parties.
“If campaigning is limited to paid-for delivery of leaflets, we risk allowing those with the most money to have the greatest influence,” she said. “There must be a level playing field for all candidates and campaigners.”
While councils across England will be given an extra £31m in funding to help make the polls safe, Smith said local authorities still did not have the support they needed.
She said: “Councillors have expressed deep concerns about polling venues, with the government ruling out the use of schools. Ministers are yet to respond to the challenge of recruiting polling and count staff, with so many workers needed as Covid marshals and for additional cleaning.”
Chloe Smith, a Cabinet Office minister, said: “Everyone who feels comfortable going to a supermarket or a post office should also feel confident attending a polling station in May. We encourage anybody who is shielding, or who would prefer not to attend a polling station, to apply for a postal or proxy vote ahead of the polls.”
She added: “Democracy should not be cancelled because of Covid.”
