Petition · past parliament
Political advertising for elections to be brought under the Advertising Code.
Rejected
11 signatures
What the petition asks
Political adverts for elections or referendum are not subject to the same rigour as other adverts, as they are excluded from the Advertising Code. This gives politicians and political parties carte blanche to misrepresent the facts, and mislead the public with no sanctions, in order to garner votes.
Rule for Political Advertisements (from the ASA website):
7.1 Claims in marketing communications, whenever published or distributed, whose principal function is to influence voters in a local, regional, national or international election or referendum are exempt from the Code.
7.2 Marketing communications by central or local government, as distinct from those concerning party policy, are subject to the Code.
7.1 Claims in marketing communications, whenever published or distributed, whose principal function is to influence voters in a local, regional, national or international election or referendum are exempt from the Code.
7.2 Marketing communications by central or local government, as distinct from those concerning party policy, are subject to the Code.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 26 Jun 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 13 Jul 2016 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
11
Status
Rejected
Rejected
13 Jul 2016
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.