Conservatives seek to ban election material in foreign languages

The Conservatives have today [Wednesday 25^th March] announced they will seek to ban the distribution of campaign material in foreign languages at election time through an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill.

The amendment, if passed, would make it an offence to distribute campaign material such as leaflets and posters in any language that is not native to the British Islands during the short campaign period before an election. 

The news comes after the Gorton and Denton by-election, which was characterised by widespread sectarian and separatist campaigning by both the Greens and Labour.  Green party leaflets were distributed in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, informing readers that “to give the Muslims a strong voice”, they should vote Green.^[1]

As Kemi Badenoch has said “Campaigning with different messages in a foreign language is a deliberate ploy to exclude those who do not speak that language. It is not in the service of integration. It is about cynically driving a wedge between groups”

The Conservatives' amendment, if passed, would ensure that the sunlight of transparency ensures that people can see what political parties and candidates are saying in their literature in the heat of an election campaign. This comes after concerns that a blind eye is being turned to so-called ‘family voting' in polling stations, breaking the secrecy of the ballot.

The amendment includes a carve out to protect languages other than English that are native to the British Islands, including but not limited to Welsh, Scots and Irish. It would also not limit the use of the likes of British Sign Language and Braille.

Paul Holmes MP, Shadow Communities Minister and proponent of the amendment, said:

“We are experiencing a worrying rise in sectarian and separatist sentiment in our country, and it is being exacerbated by parties like Labour and the Greens. By singling out particular communities, they are consciously preying on division and excluding the vast majority of the population in a cynical bid for votes.

“Campaigning in a foreign language as the Greens did in Gorton and Denton only fosters greater division. A coherent national culture relies on shared values, and an inclusive electoral process relies on a common tongue. Any MP of any party who wants to see that achieved should support our amendment.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The text of the Conservative amendment is as follows:

To move the following Clause—

“Language of campaign materials

(1) During the relevant period campaign material must not be promoted or published in a foreign language.

(2) A person is guilty of an offence if the person causes campaign material to be promoted or published that falls within subsection (1).

(3) For the purposes of this section—

“campaign material” means imprinted election campaign material published by political parties and candidates, whether in hard copy or digital format;

“foreign language” means a native language of any foreign country outside the British Islands, other than English;

“relevant period” means the period specified in period as specified in section 90ZA of the RPA 1983.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction in England and Wales, to a fine;

(b) on summary conviction in Scotland or Northern Ireland to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(5) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection () to prove—

(a) that the person took all reasonable steps, and exercised all due diligence, to ensure that the campaign material was not promoted or published contrary to subsection (1), and

(b) that the contravention arose from circumstances beyond the person's Control."

Representation of the People Bill, Amendment Paper, 23 March 2026, (link)

Member's explanatory statement

This new clause would ban election materials published in a foreign language by political parties and candidates during the short campaign. It would not ban campaigning in native languages of the British Islands such as in English, Welsh, Cornish, Ulster Scots, Irish, et al. Nor would it prevent campaigning via the likes of BSL or Braille.

[1] ‘Greens' “sectarian” by-election campaign sees candidate appear on “extremist” Muslim media channel -  while party issues Urdu leaflets urging voters to “punish Labour for Gaza”', The Daily Mail, 23 February 2026 (link).