Caerphilly council 'puts democracy on hold' for more than five weeks

Martin Shipton

Caerphilly council’s chief executive has made the surprising decision that all meetings of the authority and its committees held in public should be suspended until after the Caerphilly Senedd by-election on October 23.

The move is unprecedented and one councillor has questioned whether it is legally necessary and said the decision has put democracy on hold.

In a message to all councillors, chief executive Ed Edmunds stated: “The Caerphilly By-Election will take place on Thursday 23 October 2025.

“The period from Thursday 18 September to the close of poll on Thursday 23 October is referred to as the ‘Pre-Election Period’.

“This means there are a range of restrictions and other considerations that we must observe during this period and I have attached the guidance once again for completeness.

“I have taken the decision as Proper Officer to postpone the following public meetings at the Council until such time as the Pre-Election Period ends.

“These meetings will now need to be rearranged and Democratic Services colleagues will be working through the options with the relevant Committee Chairs:

“23/09 – Corporate & Regeneration Scrutiny

24/09 – Joint Scrutiny

25/09 – Voluntary Sector Liaison Committee

30/09 – Council

02/10 – Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal Crumlin Arm Working Group

07/10 – Governance & Audit Committee

08/10 – Planning Committee

14/10 – Education and Social Services Scrutiny Committee

15/10 – Cabinet and BMI trustees

22/10 – Joint-scrutiny

“Meetings outside of the list above that are either exempt from the Press and Public or deemed business as usual will continue as scheduled.”

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Official guidance

However, the official guidance for elected members and employees appears to contradict Mr Edmunds’ ruling.

It states: “The period between Thursday 18 September and the close of poll on Thursday 23 October is referred to as ‘the pre-election period’. This protocol will apply during this time.

“This is a period of heightened sensitivity and one where there are restrictions placed upon how public bodies (including this council) should act and behave in order not to unfairly influence the electorate prior to the poll, and to be above any criticism of bias.

“The normal and scheduled operational business of the council will continue throughout the election period uninterrupted.

“The reasoning for restrictions during the election period is not to prevent the council carrying out its normal business, but to prevent any council business during the period being used to secure electoral advantage.

“Normal and scheduled council business can and must continue during an election period. This includes publicity around normal council business and events.

“The council and our workforce should take care to ensure that publicity and council activities cannot be perceived as seeking to influence public opinion on contentious national subjects or to promote the public image of a candidate or their party.”

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'No prohibition'

However, it states: “There is no prohibition on conducting normal Council business or decision making during the pre-election period.

“You will need to be careful to avoid the allegation that a report appears to support/promote or counter/undermine the views of any candidate or political party. Likewise, reports should avoid issues on which a candidate is actively campaigning. “

Cllr Nigel Dix, who leads the council’s Independent group, said: “I am very concerned about this. The council has business to discuss and it seems very odd to put democracy on hold like this.

“I’ve been a councillor for 20 years and I have never heard of anything like this before. I’m not aware of the legal justification for this.”

A CCBC spokesman said, “The Chief Executive, as Returning Officer for the forthcoming by-election, has asked that a number of scheduled meetings be postponed until after the by-election on 23 October.The council will enter into a 5 week ‘pre-election period’ from Thursday 18 September when a range of restrictions and other considerations must be observed.

"The reasoning for these restrictions is not to prevent the council carrying out its normal business, but to prevent any council business during the period being used to secure electoral advantage.”

A spokesperson for the Senedd confirmed that its plenary and committee meetings would continue to be held as normal between now and the by-election, which is being held following the sudden death of Labour MS Hefin David in August.