Chief executive says council did not approve use of logo on Labour leaflet

Mark Mansfield

A council’s chief executive has confirmed the local authority did not authorise the use of its official logo on a Labour Party social media post, warning it could have implied political endorsement.

The row has emerged at Caerphilly County Borough Council, where opposition Plaid Cymru councillors complained after a post attacking the Welsh Government was published using the council’s branding.

In an email to Plaid Cymru group leader Cllr Charlotte Bishop, chief executive Ed Edmunds confirmed the authority had not been involved in producing the post.

He wrote: “Having discussed with colleagues I can confirm that permission was not sought to use the Caerphilly Council logo in this post/leaflet and that officers were not involved in its production.

“The inclusion of the Council logo could, in my view, give the impression that this is a Council endorsed position and not a party specific political view. That of course needs to be addressed.

“Whilst I don’t believe it to be a campaign leaflet/post, I have raised it directly with the Leader and asked that the Caerphilly logo is removed (and remains unused in this manner in future). I believe this has now been done.

“Thank you for drawing this matter to my attention.”

The leaflet, which was published on the Caerphilly Borough Labour Councillors Facebook page last week, criticised the newly elected Plaid Cymru Welsh Government over funding for additional learning needs (ALN).

It featured the council’s official logo, colours and “working for our communities” slogan, but did not display Labour branding. Following complaints, it was replaced with a version that did not include the council logo.

Cllr Bishop said the chief executive’s response confirmed her concerns.

She said: “I’m very disappointed that the council leader has not apologised and is trying to make light of this blatant breach of clear rules about linking party political publicity and the authority in the way Labour did.

“Political parties cannot use local authority logos on their campaign material in the UK. Even with permission, the use of official council branding on partisan campaign literature is strictly prohibited to maintain the political neutrality of public bodies.

“The chief executive has made it clear that the post does give the impression that the council has endorsed the comments in the social media post.

“The leader needs to front up to the breach and not try to deflect. We will look at making an official complaint about this serious breach through the council Monitoring Officer. There needs to be a thorough investigation on how this happened.”

Apologised

Responding, Cllr Pritchard said the logo had been removed as soon as the complaint was raised and apologised for its inclusion.

He said: “As soon as Plaid made me aware of their complaint, through the press, and disappointingly not to me personally, the amendment was made to the leaflet. Going through a third party is not the quickest or sensible way to deal with matters that could have easily been remedied. But I accept the oversight with the logo, and for that we offer the apology.

“But let’s not be fooled by what this is all about. It’s the Plaid group trying to deflect from not standing up for supporting Additional Learning Needs. You ask a parent of a child with Additional Learning Needs whether they want their councillors squabbling about a logo, or do they want those councillors securing vital funding for ALN? I know what the answer will be.”

The dispute follows Labour’s criticism of the Welsh Government after Plaid Cymru’s supplementary budget was defeated in the Senedd last week amid a disagreement over funding for additional learning needs and teachers’ pay.

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