Purdah is a term that originally referred to the religious practice of separating men and women, in Islam, Hindu and other traditions. In those settings it is a matter of  ceremonially cleanliness. However for most people the phrase would be familiar for that 6 week period immediately before an election when Governments and Councils are prevented from using their positions of power to make decisions or announcements that might place the party concerned at an advantage when it comes to the election. A more comprehensive answer is available from many sources including Wikipedia.

The arrangements for Purdah are normally easy to understand. In a national or local election the whole country or large parts of it are affected and so national and local Government all go into a form of suspended animation for the six weeks beforehand. However with By-Elections the situation is slightly different. Just because an individual MP or Council seat is being contested, one cannot expect the political system for the whole country to be suspended.

However, some By-Elections take on more significance than others. Eastleigh with the resignation of Chris Huhne has taken on the form of a vote of confidence in the coalition in a way that appears to exceed many other By-Elections I can recall. All of the Cabinet and most MPs have been in Eastleigh, along with many Councillors and even some Police and Crime Commissioners (despite the oath of impartiality that they have signed!). The impact of this on Eastleigh has been rather unpalatable to my mind. Many of these visitors do not have any interest in the well-being of Eastleigh and will not vote for extra resources to be found to help meets its social and economic needs. They certainly did not visit for the fly fishing or to visit the home of Sir Arthur Young. There are 14 candidates representing a range of views and parties. Yet the two coalition partners have invested substantial sums and human resources which means that the outcome appears to be a two or three-horse race. 

However the fact that so many active and serving politicians have visited the town and associated themselves with the contest, surely should prevent these same people from returning to their roles as national states people? Surely David Cameron pontificating in a factory in Eastleigh to support his candidate means that he then needs to remain ceremonially clean in his role as PM and not be seen in the same space as International visitors. Otherwise there is a risk that the electors of Eastleigh assume that their Conservative candidate is more significant than is actually the case. Eastleighians might assume Maria Hutchings is already on a fast track to high office apart from the small matter of her getting elected.

If the whole of the front benches and our three main parties are determined to see Eastleigh as their campaign, then they ought to abide by Purdah, just as surely as if they were fighting a general election – they are in effect seeing the by-election in those terms in any case!