Interestingly enough, it seems I'm not the only one bothered. The link and story below is dated yesterday. (The link contained in that stories under more recent calls, is a lengthy report called, Report Of The All-Party Parliamentary inquiry into electoral Conduct Oct 2013. I'm skimming through it at the moment, but there are some paragraphs in it that have jumped out at me straight away in the context on the referendum. I may copy and paste a few bits later or tomorrow. This issue seems to be that it all rests on 'self regulation' which is a bit of issue if you have an Arron Banks running around making posters like THAT one. It begs the question as to whether some of this may need to be revisited - not that I believe in censorship - and some other way to highlight or deal with problematic politic communications).
www.cap.org.uk/News-reports/Media-Centre/2016/Political-advertising.aspx#.V3bal4-cFMs
Political advertising and the CAP Code
30 June 2016
Political ads, and the parties, issues and policies they promote, often inspire contention and debate. If the principle function of an ad (from any source, not just established political parties) is to influence voters in local, regional, national or international elections or referenda, it falls outside of the scope the CAP Code (but if it’s not intended to influence voters, then it would be covered like any other ad).
In the wake of the UK’s EU Referendum, we have become aware of calls for the CAP Code to apply to political advertising so this can be regulated by the ASA. While we understand the generally widespread desire for political ads to be subject to the same standards of truthfulness and decency that all UK advertisers have to abide by, there are some very good reasons why political ads are exempt from regulation by the ASA system. Not least because regulating traditional advertising is very different from regulating material that forms part of the democratic process (and also from regulating the press, which is why we don’t cover editorial content either).
One of the main reasons for the exemption (in Section 7) is that it would be inappropriate, and perhaps unhelpful, for the self-regulatory body for the advertising industry to intervene in the democratic process. The history behind the exclusion helps explain more about why this is the case.
Then
Until 1999, non-broadcast political advertising was subject to some rules in the CAP Code. However, following the 1997 General Election, CAP took into account several factors that risked bringing advertising regulation into disrepute and made the decision to exclude political ads from the ASA’s remit. These factors included the short, fixed timeframes over which elections run, the likelihood that ads could be ruled upon after an election had taken place and concerns that the independence of the system could be damaged by rulings for or against political parties. The absence of a consensus between the main political parties on bringing political advertising wholly within the scope of the Code also contributed to this decision.
In 1998, CAP referred the matter to the Neill Committee on Standards in Public Life which recommended that political parties should establish a code of best practice in partnership with the advertising industry (the report presented to Parliament in July 1999 can be found here).
And then, in 2003, the Electoral Commission conducted a consultation on the regulation of electoral advertising and concluded that the ASA should not bear the responsibility for regulating such advertising. The Commission didn’t establish a separate code at the time and this remains the case today. It’s not for us to say whether or not a body or code should be established but we understand that there have been more recent calls and support for a voluntary code of practice.
Now
Ultimately, the best course of action for anyone with concerns about a political ad is to contact the party responsible and exercise their democratic right to tell them what they think. In the age of social media this is easier than ever, and gives everyone a platform to express their opinions and share their knowledge with the rest of the voting public.