The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7296 p519
24 April 2004

Society summary

Statement on election canvassing

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has issued the following statement in response to members' concerns about the receipt of a mailshot canvassing support for some candidates in this year's Council election.

The Society’s statement reads as follows:

“The Society has received complaints from a number of members who have been sent unsolicited material through the post canvassing support for certain of the candidates standing for election to the Council. The complainants have expressed concern about the use of their personal data for such a purpose, about the breach of the Society’s policy on canvassing for election to the Council and about the nature of the messages in the mailing.

“The Society wishes to inform members that it has not provided pharmacists’ personal data for this mailing. The use of the Society’s membership data is restricted in line with the requirements of data protection legislation and the Society always takes a robust approach to the protection of its data from unauthorised use.

“The Society’s current policy on canvassing is that, in the interests of fairness, there should be no personal canvassing by candidates for election to the Council or canvassing by others on their behalf. All candidates in the 2004 election to the Council have confirmed that they will refrain from canvassing and will discourage others from doing so on their behalf.

“The mailing does not indicate whether it was sent with or without the knowledge or consent of the candidates it supports. The Society has written to the named candidates setting out the position on data protection and on the Society’s policy on canvassing for election to the Council.”

This is the second year in succession in which canvassing has taken place on behalf of a group of Council election candidates, even though the Society requires all candidates to give an undertaking to refrain from canvassing for votes and to dissuade people from canvassing on their behalf.

This year is expected to be the last one in which canvassing in the Council election is prohibited. The Council has decided that the current restriction on canvassing will not apply to elections once the Council structure has been reformed under its agenda for modernisation (PJ, 14 December 2002, p863).

The Society is currently developing guidance for candidates in future elections on their legal obligations with respect to publicity and on negative campaigning.