Police chief speaks out against door-to-door political campaigning during lockdown across Northamptonshire

This comes after a letter from an MP outlined that the government’s lockdown restrictions do not support doorstep canvassing
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Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, Nick Adderley, put out a statement today (February 8) supporting the government’s view that door-to-door campaigning by political party activists is “not considered necessary or essential activity”.

Current national lockdown restrictions in England mean that members of the public must not leave or be outside the home except where necessary.

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Minister of State for the Constitution and Devolution, Chloe Smith MP, wrote to all members of the Parliamentary Parties Panel last month in a letter that stated: “The Government’s view is that these [national lockdown] restrictions do not support door to door campaigning or leafleting by individual political party activists.”

Chief Constable, Nick Adderley, speaks out in support of the government's stance on political doorstep canvassing.Chief Constable, Nick Adderley, speaks out in support of the government's stance on political doorstep canvassing.
Chief Constable, Nick Adderley, speaks out in support of the government's stance on political doorstep canvassing.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley has now responded to this in a statement put out to the public earlier this afternoon. He said: “It is not in the spirit of the legislation and door-to-door campaigning and leafleting at this point in time is therefore not considered necessary or essential activity.

“Police officers will continue to respond proportionality to any alleged breach of the legislation, as we have done throughout the pandemic and we will continue to ask the public to comply with the spirit of the guidance, working with them as we have continued to do over the last few months.

“Maintaining the confidence of our public is fundamental to our legitimacy as we have seen in the examples and the press coverage over the past weeks.

“My position as Chief Constable is clear, it is essential that we work together to do all that we can to bring the infection rate down, support the NHS and save lives.”