WITH a General Election possibly just over the horizon, a senior Welsh Tory has faced criticism for sending sticker to constituents warning political canvassers away.

Welsh Labour has called for an investigation after it emerged Welsh secretary Alun Cairns had appeared to use Parliamentary resources to send letters and window stickers to constituents in the Vale of Glamorgan, encouraging them to turn away political campaigners.

The window sticker says “no uninvited traders” and "no cold callers" - but also states “no political canvassers”, prompting accusations that Mr Cairns was using public money to try to block political rivals from speaking to voters.

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The letter, printed on House of Commons stationery, explains the sticker is aimed at reducing the number of “uninvited traders visiting parts of the Vale”.

Under parliamentary rules, MPs are banned from using stationery or postage for party political purposes, or in a way that can be viewed as campaign expenditure.

Residents have reported receiving the letters in Dinas Powys, Cowbridge, Barry and Boverton, among other areas.

South Wales Argus:

Sally Stephenson, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Vale, said: "Alun Cairns is trying to prevent the public from engaging with political parties in order to stop them discussing the Tories' shocking behaviour and the impact of their disastrous Brexit.

"This is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.

"It is yet another cynical attempt by the Conservatives to shut down democratic debate in this country, because they know the public has turned against them.”

A spokesman for Mr Cairns said: "Alun is well known for taking a pro-active approach to issues that affect constituents in the Vale of Glamorgan. In the past he chaired the all-party Parliamentary group on nuisance calls and secured changes to the law to restrict cold telephone calling.

“There have been a number of complaints about the increase in nuisance callers and the rise of the doorstep economy in the Vale of Glamorgan. Ahead of the clocks going back, Alun wants to provide constituents with a proven means of reducing the number of doorstep callers.”

Welsh Labour parliamentary candidate for the Vale, Belinda Loveluck-Edwards said: “This is a deliberate attempt to present a false equivalence between genuine political canvassing and those who would wish to scam vulnerable people."

Alun Cairns has served as Welsh secretary under three prime ministers - David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.