As local elections approach on 7 May 2026, Ofcom has published a reminder for broadcasters on how to comply with its rules.

The reminder accompanies a recently-published ‘Note to Broadcasters’ (found here) and concentrates on four key areas:

Political parties and independent candidates must be given due weight across a broadcaster’s TV and radio coverage, meaning that they must receive an “appropriate level of coverage based on their past and/or current electoral support”. Furthermore, if a political candidate takes part in a programme about the constituency in which they are standing, broadcasters must give other candidates in that constituency the opportunity to take part, based on their past and/or current electoral support. To assist broadcasters on this, Ofcom has published a digest of evidence of past electoral support.

During election periods, Ofcom puts in place measures to ensure that complaints about election coverage are assessed as quickly as possible. This includes a dedicated assessment team, as well as its ‘Election Committee’ which reaches decisions on complaints that “raise potentially substantive issues that might require redress before the election”.

This is a subject that has attracted headlines in recent years, particularly following the High Court decision in GB News v Ofcom [2025] EWHC 460 (Admin), which led to Ofcom updating its guidance on the matter (and which we discussed here). During election periods, the rules are stricter: candidates cannot act as news presenters, interviewers or presenters of any type of programme.

Ofcom makes clear that it is not the arbiter of who appears on what debates or discussions – that is a matter for broadcasters.  Its role is to decide, after the fact, whether broadcasters have complied with the rules on due impartiality.

To read more, click here.